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APUSH Vocab Semester Compilation
Nearly every APUSH term in the first semester alone.
568
History
10th Grade
12/22/2012

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Term
Marco Polo
Definition
A merchant trader in 1300 who dazzled readers about the riches of asia helped start intense European interest and competition to control trade with Asia.
Term
Bartholomeau Dias
Definition
A Portuguese explorer who found a pathway around Africa, and prompted the Spanish to seek a different "westward" approach to Asia.
Term
Henry the Navigator
Definition
By the 1430s this Portuguese explorer' work established Portugal as a naval power in control of the African coast, thus preventing other European powers from lucrative eastern-sea route trade with Asia.
Term
Vasco da Gama
Definition
In 1498 a Portuguese explorer who rounded Africa to find India, cemented Portuguese control of the area and forced the Spanish to explore a westward route to Asia.
Term
Christopher Columbus
Definition
Exploring for the Spanish crown in 1492, his reports of gold and slaves prompted European investment in conquering the America's, which resulted in the enslavement and near extinction of Native Americans.
Term
Treaty of Tordesailles
Definition
In 1494 the Catholic Pope divided the world into Eastern Portuguese and Western Spanish hemispheres, ensuring the Americas were initially a mostly
Spanish sphere of exploration and settlement though the eventual flood of immigrants proved the treaty unworkable.
Term
Vasco Balboa
Definition
First to cross the isthmus of Panama and see the Pacific Ocean in 1513, he understood the world was much larger than many realized by recognizing the land was not Asia, but an entirely new continents.
Term
Ferdinand Magellan
Definition
first to circle the world from 1519-1522, his crude voyage gave Europeans the first accurate map of the globe.
Term
Francisco Coronado
Definition
Searching for the city of gold for the Spanish 1540, he gained a realistic view of Southwest America but discovered nothing of significance, which curtailed future Spanish exploration and settlement in North America.
Term
Hernando Cortes
Definition
Found the highly advanced Aztec society and defeated them in 1519, which resulted in the conquest of Central America for Spain, the Columbian exchange, and racial hierarchy.
Term
Francisco Pizarro
Definition
Took over the Incan Empire in 1632, expanding the Spanish Empire's land and wealth at the expense of Native Americans.
Term
Aztecs
Definition
The most advanced civilization in the America's, their defeat by Europeans left the America's relatively uncoordinated and undefended to halt European exploration and conquest.
Term
Incas
Definition
Powerful South American Empire that was destroyed by Pizarro and resulted in Spanish control of South America.
Term
Protestant Reformation
Definition
A split in Christian unity under the Pope led by Martin Luther in 1517, which ultimately challenged Spain's religious-backed American Empire as national rivalries intensified.
Term
Enclosure Movement
Definition
Landowners maximized their profit by evicting poor tenants from public land in favor of sheep grazing (for wool and clothing), which led to masses of poor unemployed people and the political desire to relocate them by expanding colonial holdings.
Term
Mercantilism
Definition
A nationalistic program which assumed that the total of t he world's wealth (gold and silver during this time) remained essentially fixed, with only a nation's share in that wealth subject to change which resulted in Europe's drive for colonies (like America) and a desire to transfer wealth to the "home" (Britain) country through a series of laws (like the Navigation Acts).
Term
Charter Colonies
Definition
One of three types of colonies (royal and proprietary are the others), they were largely private enterprises who were granted authority to rule a certain area in America and generally had more control over their area than did the other types of colonies.
Term
Martin Luther
Definition
Created the ideological split between Protestant and Catholics, which resulted in the Protestant Reformation (eventually created religious justification for English movement to the Americas, despite Treaty of Tordesailles).
Term
Predestination
Definition
Calvin's theory that God predestined some to salvation from the beginning of time -- this was believed by the Puritans, who sought to demonstrate their salvation by their actions in the physical world by eventually moving to the Americas.
Term
John Calvin
Definition
Theologian who stated the idea of predestination, which created a group of followers who sought to demonstrate their salvation by their actions in the physical world.
Term
Elizabeth I
Definition
Born to King Henry VIII who severed connections with the Pope, she furthered the divide between England and Catholicism which resulted in Britain challenging the Spanish Empire by colonizing the Americas.
Term
Salvation By Faith
Definition
Only faith will allow a person to gain entrance to heaven (not doing good things).
Term
Salvation By Work
Definition
The belief that if you do enough good things you can earn your way into heaven.
Term
Henry VIII
Definition
Unable to get a divorce from a wife who could not bear children (and therefore provide no royal heir to the throne), he rejected the authority of Catholicism and created the Church of England (Anglican Church) which ultimately allowed England to compete with Spain for control of the Americas (Treaty of Tordesailles was negotiated by the Pope).
Term
Church of England
Definition
Taking form from both Catholicism and the Protestant Reformation, this organization was used to steer the English people away from the Pope and religious radicals desired a "purer" church causing some to leave for the Americas.
Term
Puritans
Definition
People who thought the Anglican Church retained too many Catholic traditions (sought to purify the church by their actions), many fled to the New World in the early 1600s and established religious communities with a heavy emphasis on family values and strict morality.
Term
Separatists
Definition
A more extreme group of Puritans who either wanted to separate from the Church of England or destroy it, they started their congregations in Plymouth because they felt the Church of England could not be saved.
Term
Francis Drake
Definition
An adventurous British seaman who raided the Spanish colonies and treasure ships which constituted a British challenge to the Spanish Empire and lead tot he Spanish Armada attacking in response.
Term
Spanish Armada
Definition
The large Spanish fleet set out to destroy Britain but was itself destroyed; this elevated England into the great naval power and allowed new countries to colonize the Americas (including England).
Term
Humphrey Gilbert
Definition
A British man who first tried to colonize the Americas, he obtained a charter guaranteeing English colonists all the rights of their born in England setting an important precedent, but his death discouraged other English explorers from following in his footsteps.
Term
Patroonship system
Definition
The Dutch transported whole families to the New York area on condition they take still more immigrants, which resulted in a recreation of the feudal system in some areas of North America.
Term
Samuel de Champlian
Definition
French colonization of the americas was epitomized by this man founder of (Quebec in 1608- 1 year after Jamestown), which created a strong European rival in the North for the arriving English colonists.
Term
Walter Raleigh
Definition
Founded the English colony of Roanoke, which was quickly abandoned and many English took as a warning against investing money or their life to colonize the Americas.
Term
Joint-Stock Company
Definition
Stock-holders (not the government) invested into a common pool of money used to colonize lands and shared in the financial risks/profits of the colony, which led to profitable English colonization in the 16th and 17th century.
Term
Ponce de Leon
Definition
Spanish explorer who sought the fountain of youth in Florida, he discovered nothing of significance and therefore the Spanish did not continue exploring.
Term
Jamestown
Definition
Organized by the Virginia company in London in 1607, Virginia, this became the first permanent settlement in the Americas sustained by the cash-crops of tobacco and the work of indentured servants/slaves.
Term
John Smith
Definition
With his strong brand of leadership he imposed a dictatorship over Jamestown in 1608, he kept Jamestown from collapsing like Roanoke and ensured Jamestown would survive organized work gangs to gather food and build shelters, thereby dramatically lowering the mortality rates among Jamestown colonists.
Term
Starving Time
Definition
In 1608 during this period of time Jamestown residents were limited to eating whatever was available and colony was nearly abandoned except for the arrival of additional supplies.
Term
John Rolfe
Definition
Discovered that a strain of tobacco native to the Americas could be grown in Jamestown, which have Virginia a major cash crop that could make it profitable which made Virginia an economically successful colonies.
Term
Cash Crop
Definition
Crops that could be grown for significant amounts of profit which ensured that Britain would continue to colonize the Americas.
Term
House of Burgesses
Definition
A representative assembly was founded in 1619 in Virginia, which essentially relaxed the colony's military regime and established "Americans" as having the rights of Englishman including a representative assembly.
Term
Headright System
Definition
This system gave about 50 acres of land to individuals immigrating to Virginia who brought indentured servants, which significantly expanded the Colonial immigrant population as during that time social status was primarily determined by land ownership.
Term
Indentured Servants
Definition
This system made immigration available to Britain's poor by letting them work-off their transportation debt after they traveled to America (usually 7 years), but their poor treatment led to resentment and rebellion would ultimately lead to need for slavery in America.
Term
George Calvert
Definition
First proprietary colony charter granted to this person, who sought to establish a safe area for Roman Catholics in Maryland in 1634 but resulted in a mixture of Catholics and Protestants, necessitating the need for the Act Concerning Religion.
Term
Act Concerning Religion
Definition
The Act passed in 1649 assured freedom for all Christian worship that included teachings of the Trinity, which began to establish the basis of religious toleration in America.
Term
Proprietary Colonies
Definition
Owned by an individual with the power to make laws with the consent of the people.
Term
Royal Colonies
Definition
Colony directly formed and controlled by the King, so the government had total control over those who lived there.
Term
Bacon's Rebellion
Definition
This event was an armed rebellion over Gov. Berkley's inaction concerning Indian raids on the western frontier in 1676, which resulted in new western lands opening and wealthy planters shifted labor demands from poor white indentured servants who would become free (and potentially troublesome) to permanently enslaved African people.
Term
Mayflower Compact
Definition
Pilgrim leaders entered into a formal agreement to abide by the laws made by leaders of their choosing in 1620, which provided colonists with the expectation of self-government in the Americas.
Term
William Bradford
Definition
Leader of the pilgrims who settled the Plymouth colony and governed the colony in 1620, which helped grow New England as a colony through many hardships such as Indian attacks, crop failures, and droughts. A Puritan.
Term
Pilgrims
Definition
This group felt they needed to abandon the Church of England, and boarded the Mayflower with Bradford in 1620 and ultimately settled Plymouth Plantation.
Term
Great Puritan Migration
Definition
Puritans sent 17 ships and over 1000 followers to Massachusetts Bay in 1630s to establish Boston, which established large family groups (which allowed the population to increase naturally instead of depending upon immigration) and self-government in the New World.
Term
John Winthrop
Definition
Leader of the Puritan migration in Boston who planned the colony as a Christian model to the world (City on a Hill), which resulted in a relatively stable and prosperous city very quickly that was controlled by the people and never underwent a starving period like other colonies before it--a model for other colonization efforts.
Term
John Cotton
Definition
A prominent minister who supported the Congregational Church system, which demonstrates clergy support for a decentralized religious structure in America.
Term
Congregational Church
Definition
A local church structure established in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1620s that had permission to administer its own affairs, which contributed to the decentralized religious structure in America.
Term
Theocracy
Definition
Government and religious organizations (in this case, the Church) support for each other, which established a high degree of social control and stability in the early colony helping it to grow quickly.
Term
"City on a Hill"
Definition
Destined to be an example for other Christian nations, the Massachusetts Bay colony was established quickly and efficiently and became a model in social and cultural development in the Americas.
Term
Anne Hutchinson
Definition
Openly taught religious doctrine contrary to the Puritan doctrine and ultimately forced out of the colony and established Rhode Island, she demonstrates how religious differences and conflict led to New England's colonial expansion.
Term
Roger Williams
Definition
Banished for the belief of a complete separation between church and state he led a group to help found Rhode Island, which offered complete religious freedom and demonstrated religious and conflict led to New England's colonial expansion.
Term
Separation of Church and State
Definition
Williams believed a division between religion and government would protect the church from corruption, which established a principle that the highly religious American society would come to adopt to protect society and church institutions.
Term
Thomas Hooker
Definition
A minister of Cambridge who defied the Massachusetts government eventually left and led followers to establish Hartford Connecticut, demonstration and religious differences/conflicts led to New England's colonial expansion.
Term
Fundamental Orders (of Connecticut)
Definition
The first written constitution in American history (1638) provided for representative government, which demonstrated the expectation of self-government by the people.
Term
Ferinando Gorges
Definition
Established the Maine colony.
Term
John Mason
Definition
Established the New Hampshire colony.
Term
King Philip's War
Definition
In 1676 the expansion of the New England colonies drove Metacomet and Indian allies into losing a war of attempting to exterminate whites from America, which demonstrated the superiority of European military technology and the inability of Native Americans to stop the colonization process of their land.
Term
New Netherland
Definition
Diverse populations under the Dutch control had colonized the area until the British won a military victory, which established a unified east coast seaboard of British colonies by 1674.
Term
Peter Stuyvesant
Definition
An unpopular Dutch governor of New York (New Amsterdam) whom the people did not fight for, which resulted in unified British colonies along America's eastern seaboard (allowing uncomplicated commerce transactions).
Term
Quakers
Definition
Their pacifism, unwillingness to deference to "social superiors", and their aggressive denouncing of established institutions brought them into social conflict often and sought to establish a religious colony in the New World in Pennsylvania.
Term
New Sweden
Definition
Small Swedish and Finnish trading company whose territory included parts of the present-day states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Term
William Penn
Definition
Devout Quaker who gained the land as the British King's repayment of debt established the "Holy Experiment" of religious freedom for Pennsylvania through careful planning and resulted in a very peaceful, prosperous, and liberty endowed territory in the colonies.
Term
James Ogelthorpe
Definition
Founded the Georgian colony both as a refuge for British debtors and to act as a military border to Spanish Florida
Term
Trade and Navigation Acts
Definition
Designed upon mercantilist economic theory to prevent wealth from transferring between nations and designed to support the "mother" country (Britain), these acts stipulated goods like sugar/cotton/tobacco be provided only to England and all goods to the colonies must ship from British ports.
Term
Dominion of New England
Definition
Consolidation into a single colony of the New England colonies--later New York and New Jersey--by royal governor Edmund Andros in 1686 to bring the colonies under stricter royal control but the dominion reverted to individual colonial governments thirty years later; this demonstrated the inability of England to impose long-term control over the colonies as domestic issues (the Glorious Revolution) shattered the control and concern of Britain about colonial America and led to policy of Salutary Neglect.
Term
Edmund Andros
Definition
Crown appointed governor of the Dominion of New England seeking to reassert strict crown rule over the American colonies who ultimately lost power due to the Glorious Revolution in Britain, which reinforced the colonial idea of local self-government and salutary neglect from Britain.
Term
Glorious Revolution
Definition
The Catholic-Protestant battle continued in Britain resulting in a new King and a focus on (British) domestic issues while allowing the American colonies to continue in salutary neglect.
Term
Middle Passage
Definition
The dangerous trip from Africa to the Americas, marked by the brutal treatment of slaves, transported millions of Africans between continents (with about 5% residing in the United States).
Term
Slave Codes
Definition
The massive increase in the slave population led to written laws regarding the treatment of slaves which created a racial hierarchy of European supremacy and African inferiority.
Term
Pennsylvania Dutch
Definition
Migration from other European countries increased to populate the American colonies ensuring a heterogeneous mixture of nationalities that ultimately loosened the social tied to England.
Term
(French) Huguenots
Definition
French Protestants who attempted to flee religious persecution came to reside in America, diversifying the nationalities of the population and loosened the ties to England.
Term
Scotch-Irish
Definition
The colonial population also grew with the increased large influx of immigration by the Scotch-Irish, diversifying the nationalities of the population, increasing Presbyterianism, and ultimately loosened the ties to England.
Term
Triangular Trade Routes
Definition
The trade between Britain, America, and Africa of finished goods, natural resources, and slaves effectively brought America into a global economic market (3 continents tied together in 1 economic system).
Term
Social Mobility
Definition
The ability to move up or down easily in social circles was common in America, preventing the social unrest between people that was occurring with common frequency in Europe.
Term
Plantation system
Definition
The common southern social unit that was marked by midsize groups of people working together in self-contained communities to farm land which led to low population densities and an agricultural economic basis.
Term
Township system
Definition
This system was common in New England forcing a sense of community, which led to higher population densities and the need to frequently expand their land holdings for the population growth and the ultimate breakdown of the Puritan order.
Term
Town meetings
Definition
An annual meeting was used for the important decisions for the community including electing officials, levying taxes, and passing laws, which led to expectation of self-government in colonial America.
Term
Primogeniture
Definition
The passing of all land to the firstborn son did NOT take hold in New England, which resulted in the division of farmlands between sons and eventual mobility of family members to claim new farmlands (at the expense of Native Americans).
Term
Salem Witch Trials
Definition
In the 1680s several girls claimed to be tormented by the occult activities of neighbors upon which the town executed 18 people; this ultimately led to greater religious tolerance and demonstrates the importance of religion in colonial society.
Term
Great Awakening
Definition
Religious revival movement in the 1720s through the 1740s that was spread throughout the colonies which weakened the status of old-fashioned clergy, encouraged believers to exercise individual judgement, heightened the need for tolerance (many domination's created), created demand for New Light ministers, and brought the American religious aspect of revivalism.
Term
Jonathan Edwards
Definition
A New Light preacher in the 1740s, appealed to Christians to repent and live holy lives for fear of hell giving many colonist a shared religious experience, and is frequently associated with his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
Term
George Whitefield
Definition
A minister credited as the catalyst of the Great Awakening, his celebrated missionary trip to the New World in the 1730s sparked enthusiasm for religion.
Term
Old Lights
Definition
Traditionalist in the Congregational Church who rejected the Great Awakening teachings.
Term
New Lights
Definition
Supported the Great Awakening and founded many universities (well known, like Harvard) primarily for the purpose of training ministers and underlined the self-rule the colonies developed in religion.
Term
Public education
Definition
Purpose was originally to read the Bible and train ministers, and with the Northerners focus on religion led to Northerners generally being better educated than southerners.
Term
Harvard College
Definition
Reaction to charges that new minsters lacked sophistication, many colleges like this one were established, which trained teachers about religion but more significantly taught them how to reason with their own judgment.
Term
William and Mary
Definition
Another college established which provided that people exercise their own judgment and achieve reason.
Term
Benjamin Franklin
Definition
Epitome of the American Enlightenment who focused on scientific advancement and demonstrated the principle of rationalism as well as the belief that humankind possessed adequate understanding to end mankind's problems.
Term
John Peter Zenger
Definition
A trial of this man for printing negative facts about the government was found not guilty, which emboldened other editors afterwards to criticize government officials more freely and is the basis for freedom of the press.
Term
Iroquois
Definition
One of the three major powers in America who sided half-heartedly with the British in the French and Indian War, ultimately led to the destruction of the last militarily and politically powerful Native American tribe in the Ohio region.
Term
Albany Plan
Definition
Benjamin Franklin's plan to form a military alliance between the colonies with a General/President lacking powers to impede on state constitutions failed, which demonstrated that while the colonial bonds were loosening to Britain the colonies still were not united with each other as well as provided the concept of uniting in the face of a common threat.
Term
King William's War
Definition
British and French geopolitical struggle spilled into fighting in northern New England in 1689, which resulted in the American colonists recognition of a need for Britain's assistance to wage effective warfare against powerful European powers like France in order to gain security of the New World.
Term
Queen Anne's War
Definition
British and French geopolitical struggle in 1701 led to intense fighting against Native American, Spanish, and French outposts in the New World with heavy reinforcements from Britain and resulted in dramatic land gains for the English (including large parts of Canada).
Term
War of Jenkin's Ear
Definition
Not mentioned by name in book left column middle page of 109 war between Britain and Spain in 1733 that occurred in British controlled Georgia and Spanish help Florida, resulted 5/6ths if the small American colonial army dying, and further increased the tensions between rival European powers for colonial holdings.
Term
King George's War
Definition
British launched an attack against New France with the colonists help 1745 and took the strategically important city of Louisberg, which Britain callously gave back to France in the treaty ending the war over the objections of the colonial patriots who had fought hard for the area while leaving unresolved the underlying tension between the English and French Empires.
Term
French And Indian War
Definition
From 1754-1763 this was the last of the colonial wars fought between England and France for control of North America resulted in a clear British victory for control of North America and large war debts even while their rule over the American colonists was increasingly questioned now that no hostile European powers remained.
Term
George Washington
Definition
Military commander sent in 1754 to counter French expansion, was quickly defeated by the French at Fort Necessity and marked the beginning of the French and Indian War.
Term
General Braddock
Definition
A 1755 military seasoned British military officer sent to lead against the French/Native Americans was killed, demonstrating the ineffectiveness of British tactics early in the French & Indian War (temporarily elevated George Washington to lead British forces as well).
Term
Fort Duquesne
Definition
A 1755 military French fort placed in a strategic location (today = Pittsburgh) that would check British expansion westward, Washington Build For Necessity nearby and was defeated by Fort Duquesne.
Term
Siege of Quebec
Definition
In 1759, the British military took the "fortress" of Quebec from France, and the victory of the "gateway to Canada" effectively ended French power in North America.
Term
James Wolfe
Definition
British General who captured a French fortress at Louisburg in 1758 severely weakened the ability of the French to wage war effectively.
Term
Jeffrey Amherst
Definition
British General who captured a French fortress at Louisburg in 1758 severely weakened the ability of the French to wage war effectively.
Term
William Pitt
Definition
Pitt took control of the war effort in 1757 and imposed strict British rule and strategy resulting in intense opposition from the American colonies (until these were later lifted), which resulted in British military success against the French in the French & Indian War.
Term
Yeoman Farmers
Definition
A person who owns and runs a small farm.
Term
Artisans
Definition
A worker in a skilled trade, esp. one that involves making things by hand.
Term
Naval Stores
Definition
Articles or materials used in shipping.
Term
Protestant Work Ethic
Definition
Based upon the Calvanist emphasis on the necessity of hard work to demonstrate that a person had seen saved, some Protestants worked tirelessly in order to demonstrate (to themselves and others) they had received salvation.
Term
Blue Laws
Definition
Laws generally banning work on Sunday, the Christian Holy Day.
Term
The Holy Experiment
Definition
Philadelphia, founded by William Pitt.
Term
George III
Definition
The mentally unstable King of England from 1760-1820, whom the colonists were torn between loyalty and resistance, but after his rejection of the Olive Branch Petition he was largely considered a tyrant.
Term
Sugar Act of 1764
Definition
This 1764 British law outraged colonists with its methods of enforcement and stipulations which lowered the duty on foreign-produced molasses as an attempt to discourage colonial smuggling and that americans could export many commodities--including lumber, iron, skins, and whalebone--to foreign countries only if the goods passed through the British ports first.
Term
Mercantilism
Definition
A nationalistic program which assumed that the total of the world's wealth (hold and silver during this time) remained essentially fixed, with only a nation's share in that wealth subject to change which resulted in the Europe's drive for colonies and a desire to transfer wealth to the home country through a series of laws.
Term
Quartering Act
Definition
This 1765 Act required colonial citizens to provide room and board for British soldiers stationed in the colonies, which generated fear among colonists of a large standing army and potentially high costs
9the 3rd Amendment of the US Constitution specifically protects against this
Term
Proclamation Act if 1763
Definition
This 1763 Act barred American settlement west if the Appalachians in order to reduce conflict between Native
Americans and settlers (prompted in the first place by Pontiac's rebellion), but while this act was seen as an easy fix for the British officials it outraged the American colonists who largely ignored the law.
Term
Paxton Boys
Definition
A group of back-country western Pennsylvanians who demanded more money and protection from the colonial government (not Britain) and narrowly averted violence by giving in to the demands of the back-country farmers, illustrating the difficulty of many different colonies uniting against Britain in 1763.
Term
Regulators
Definition
A small-scale civil war erupted between eastern and western cities of North Carolina over the issue of taxation, illustrating teh difficulty of many different colonies uniting against Britain in 1763.
Term
Pontiac's Rebellion
Definition
This event occurred in 1763 for approximately 18 months when Chief Pontiac launched devastating attacks on colonial settlements and forts and was finally ended when the British agreed to the Proclamation of 1763.
Term
Stamp Act
Definition
Issued by England in 1765, the act required colonial Americans to buy special watermarked paper for newspapers and all legal documents and violators faced jury-less trials in vice-admiralty courts (as under the 1764 Sugar Act), which provoked so much anger it generated the first organized response and resistance to British Law.
Term
Non-Importation Agreements
Definition
The most successful colonial resistance to British control were agreements starting in 1766 where the colonists boycotted British goods subject to taxes/laws they disagreed with, which ultimately helped repeal unpopular British laws (Stamp Act and Townshend Act).
Term
Sons of Liberty
Definition
In response to the Stamp Act Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and other radicals formed this secret organization in the 1760s where they harassed tax collectors and conducted events such as the Boston Tea Party, demonstrating the increasingly organized resistance and conflict towards British policies.
Term
Stamp Act Congress
Definition
In 1765 representatives of nine colonial assemblies met in anger over the Stamp act and agreed that Parliament could not impose external taxes nor could they deny anyone a fair trial, both of which had been dictates of the Stamp Act; this reflected a new level of colonial political organization and opposition to Great Britain.
Term
Declaratory Act 1766
Definition
Passed in 1776 just after the repeal of the Stamp Act, this Act stated that Parliament could legislate for the colonies in all cases, which colonists interpreted as a face-saving mechanism and nothing more while Parliament would repeatedly interpret the act in order to control the colonies, which signaled a growing divide between Britain and its American colony.
Term
Charles Townshend
Definition
A British Prime Minister in 1767 who replaced Grenville and passed a new program of taxing items imported into the colonies known as the Townshend Acts.
Term
Townshend Acts 1767
Definition
An act in 1767 that created taxes on glass, lead, paper, and tea entering the colonies; while the acts were external taxes and colonists resented that the act was clearly designed to raise revenue exclusively for England rather than to regulate trade in a manner favorable to the entire British Empire and ultimately led to boycotts by Boston merchants and was a key contributor towards the Boston Massacre.
Term
Internal Taxation
Definition
A tax used for the purpose of directly paying for government services (such as a poll tax to pay for the voting machines) and to regulate trade for the benefit of everyone (the Trade and Navigation Acts).
Term
External Taxation
Definition
A tax used for the purpose of gaining revenue (money) for the government.
Term
Boston Massacre
Definition
In March 1770, a crowd of colonists protested against Boston customs agents and the Townshend Duties when five colonists were killed in the ensuing fight, which further enraged Americans.
Term
Committees of Correspondence
Definition
Originally organized by New England patriot leader Samuel Adams in 1772, this was a system of communication between patriot leaders that united the colonies by quickly disseminating the colonial interpretation of British actions in opposition to Parliament and ultimately was responsible for sending delegates to the First Continental Congress.
Term
Samuel Adams
Definition
A leader of Sons of Liberty, he suggested the formation of the Committees of Correspondence and fought for colonial rights throughout New England and is credited with provoking the Boston Tea Party.
Term
Virtual Representation
Definition
Held that the members of Parliament not only represented their local geographic constituencies but also took into consideration the well-being of all British subjects when deliberating on legislation, which was used to explain why Parliament could legally tax the colonists even though the colonists could not elect any members of Parliament.
Term
Direct Representation
Definition
The colonists demand that they have members in Parliament who were elected by and represented their local geographic area in return for the right to taxation.
Term
Tea Act 1773
Definition
Passed in 1773, this Act lowered the price of British tea to below that of smuggled tea (by cutting out local American merchants with the British East India Trading Company), which the British hoped would end the boycott while providing new revenue to the British government to pay the salaries to royal governors in the colonies, a plan that outraged many colonists and prompted the Boston Tea Party.
Term
Gaspee Affair
Definition
In 1772 the British patrol ship Gaspee accidentally ran aground on an anti-smuggling operation and began to take sheep, hogs, and poultry from the locals who revolted by boarding the ship, removing the crew, and torching the vessel further eroding the colonies' fragile relationship with England.
Term
Intolerable Act/Quebec Act (1774)
Definition
In 1774 these (four) Acts revoked the charter of Massachusetts, closed the Port of Boston (in response to the Boston Tea Party) until citizens paid for the tea, increased the power of Massachusetts Royal Governor at the expense of the elected legislature, allowed Royal officials accused of crimes in Massachusetts to be tried elsewhere (Britain), and allowed a former French region to gain more autonomy and land at the English colonists expense which had the effect of galvanizing colonial resistance as most colonies feared Britain would soon take away their rights as well and led to the formation of the First Continental Congress.
Term
First Continental Congress
Definition
Convened on September 5, 1774, with all the colonies but Georgia sending delegates chosen by the Committees of Correspondence, the congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves (directly challenged the Coercive acts and advocated that colonists disobey them), voted for an organized boycott of British imports, and send a petition to King George III that conceded to Parliament the power of regulation of commerce but stringently objected to Parliament's arbitrary taxation and unfair judicial system.
Term
Lexington and Concord
Definition
The first shots fired in the Revolutionary War in April 1775 near Boston as British General Gage sought to confiscate colonial weaponry, and resulted in approximately 100 militiamen and 250 British soldiers killed (the colonial militia retreated).
Term
Conciliatory Proposition
Definition
In 1775 Parliament passed a law that stated Britain would seek to regulate trade only with taxes and the legislatures would collect any other taxes for themselves, provided they "voluntarily" contribute to British military defense budgets; this failed to resolve the underlying problems of the growing British/American split.
Term
John Hancock
Definition
A leader and patriot in the American Revolution, Hancock was a wealthy businessman who wholeheartedly supported the revolutionary cause; he served in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence first, and later led Massachusetts to sign the Constitution.
Term
Yorktown
Definition
In October 1781 the British forces under command of General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington's colonial army, pinned between the French fleet on the Atlantic and Washington's army, which signaled victory for Americans and was the end of combat between the British and American forces.
Term
Richard Henry Lee
Definition
A member of the Second Continental congress who supported complete independence from Great Britain, he ultimately made a resolution in 1776 calling for the colonies independence from Great Britain (which was later put into writing in the Declaration of Independence), and later served a one-year term as President of the Continental Congress.
Term
Hessians
Definition
Approximately 30,000 German troops were hired by the British to help end the rebellion of the American colonies, but the use of foreign troops to put down the rebellion was seen as insulting because it treated British subjects no differently than non-British subjects and persuaded many loyalists to be in favor of the revolution.
Term
2nd Continental Congress
Definition
convened in May 1775 after fighting broke out in Massachusetts between the British and colonists. Most delegates opposed the drastic move toward complete independence from Britain. In an effort to reach a reconciliation, the Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, offering peace under the conditions that there be a cease-fire in Boston, that the Coercive Acts (part of the Intolerable Acts) he repealed, and that negotiations between the colonists and Britain begin immediately. When King George III rejected the petition, the Congress created the Continental Army and elected George Washington its commander in chief.
Term
Declaration of Causes
Definition
A 1775 document that proclaimed the British government had left the American people with only two alternatives,"unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers or resistance by force", which clearly adopted a more antagonistic and hostile tone and intention (passed a few days after the Olive Branch Petition).
Term
Olive Branch Petition
Definition
Most delegates sought reconciliation with Britain so this petition was sent to King George III offering peace under the conditions that there be a cease-fire in Boston, that the Coercive acts (part of the Intolerable Acts) be repealed, and that negotiations between the colonists and Britain begin immediately; King George III rejected the petition, so Congress created the Continental Army and elected George Washington its commander in chief.
Term
Prohibitory Act
Definition
Britain rejected the Olive Branch Petition and passed this act in 1775, which closed the colonies to all overseas trade (enforced with a naval blockade of colonial ports) and made no concessions to American demands except an offer to pardon repentant rebels.
Term
Common Sense
Definition
Written by Thomas Paine in 1776, he argued the colonists should free themselves from British rule and establish an independent government based on Enlightenment ideals, which became so popular and influential that many historians credit it with dissolving the final barriers to the fight for independence.
Term
John Locke
Definition
His ideas of government were formed to protect the natural rights to "life, liberty, and land" (considered in the time as the pursuit of happiness since farming was many people's job) and that any government not fulfilling those duties could be overthrown became the basis upon which the American Revolution was based.
Term
John Adams
Definition
He played a leading role in the American Revolution, persuading many to support independence, nominated Washington as head General of the continental army, helped write the Declaration of Independence with Jefferson, helped negotiate the end of Revolutionary War with Britain, as well as obtaining loans from Europe that helped finance the war (he also write the Massachusetts constitution as well).
Term
Benjamin Franklin
Definition
A well-respected man, he served as an ambassador to France during the Revolutionary War playing a key role in getting France to recognize the United States' independence, as the oldest delegate to the Constitutional Convention the other delegates leaned upon his wisdom, and his advice proved crucial in the drafting of the Constitution.
Term
Patriots
Definition
The name given to the colonists who fought for independence from the British.
Term
Tories/Loyalists
Definition
Colonists who disagreed with the Revolution for independence and did not support the independence movement.
Term
Articles of Confederation
Definition
Adopted in 1777 during the Revolutionary War, this document established the first limited central government of the United States, reserving most powers for the individual states which in the long run didn't grant enough federal power to manage the country's budget or maintain internal stability, and were eventually replaced.
Term
George Washington
Definition
Commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, Washington led the Continental Army to victory against the superior British military with French military/financial aid.
Term
Lafayette
Definition
A French General who served in the Colonial Army in 1777 that succeeded in building and leading the Continental Army, and late returning to France to secure more French troops and money (both critically needed) for the American Revolution.
Term
Battle of Bunker Hill
Definition
Actually fought on Breed's Hill, the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 was the first major fight of the Revolutionary War with the colonial army valiantly fighting against trained professional British soldiers, and though the British eventually won the battle they lost over 1,000 soldiers compared to the Colonists 400.
Term
William Howe
Definition
A British General who took command of British forces in 1775, and won military victories at Bunker Hill, New York, and Philadelphia, who later resigned in 1778.
Term
Battle of Trenton
Definition
After a series of defeats had left the Revolutionary cause in question, Washington led his troops across the Delaware River in 1776 and attacked a Hessian Force capturing most of them which inspired soldiers to serve longer, attracted new recruits to the military, and reinvigorated support for the War.
Term
Battle of Princeton
Definition
Followed quickly after the Battle of Trenton, this battle was an attack on British forces that was going poorly until Washington rode to the frontlines and personally led the attack to success against regular British forces, further inspiring devotion and inspiration to the Revolution.
Term
General Burgoyne
Definition
A British military general who sought to capture Albany (capital of New York) was soon surrounded by the Colonial Army and forced to surrender at the Battle of Saratoga, after which he was never placed in command again in the British military (and became a playwright).
Term
Benedict Arnold
Definition
A general during the American Revolutionary War who had some early successes, but later in 1779 committed treason by trying to surrender West Point to the British and even today many educated people use his name to mean treason.
Term
Brandywine Creek
Definition
This battle occurred in September 1777 and was decisive victory for the British forces, who routed the Colonial Army and took Philadelphia (then the capitol of america) though its near catastrophic loss for the Colonial Army was averted and Washington escaped with most of the Colonial Army to fight later.
Term
Battle of Saratoga
Definition
In October 1777 General Arnold rallied the Continental Army to take the strategic British positions and secured the surrender of British General Burgoyne's army, thus giving the French enough proof of military success to have them form a military alliance with the United States as an ally against Great Britain.
Term
George Rogers Clark
Definition
A high ranking Continental soldier who fought and significantly the British in the Northwest with decisive victories at Kaskaskia and Vincennes, he was hailed as the "Conqueror of the Old Northwest" when the British ceded the area in the Treaty of Paris.
Term
Kings Mountain
Definition
A decisive Patriot victory in October 1780 over the numerically superior British forces in the Southern campaign of the American Revolution, which had the effect of boosting Patriot morale and made the British evacuate to safer areas.
Term
General Cornwallis
Definition
The British army officer in charge of the Revolutionary War campaigns such as the New York Campaign, Trenton, Princeton, Philadelphia, Southern theater of war, Virginia, where he led troops to a large number of victories and finally Saratoga where he surrendered to the combined American/French force at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 that ended the significant hostilities between the British and the United States.
Term
Nathaniel Greene
Definition
The ablest of all generals next to Washington himself for the Continental Army, he was placed in command of the Southern Campaign in August 1780 where his guerrilla warfare tactics confused and frustrated the British until finally the British retreated in 1781 to the North.
Term
John Jay
Definition
One of the American Diplomats in France who helped negotiate the Treat of Paris, he later went on to author some of the Federalist Papers and was instrumental in drafting of the Constitution.
Term
Treaty of Paris 1783
Definition
Signed in September 1783 and ratified by Congress in January, 1784, this treaty ended the Revolutionary War which granted the United States its independence, gave the U.S. all land east of the Mississippi River, promised to compensate loyalists for property damage incurred during the war, and to allow British creditors to collect debts accrued before the war.
Term
Northwest Ordinance
Definition
One of the great successes produced under the Articles of Confederation, this act defined the process by which new states could be admitted into the Union from the Northwest Territory and forbade slavery in the territory.
Term
Alexander Hamilton
Definition
Sought ways to increase the power of the national government while creating a sturdy financial base to pay off war debts in 1786, he would later rise to prominence and influence the economic system of the United States for over a century.
Term
Shay's Rebellion
Definition
In August 1786 western Massachusett's farmers were angered over new taxes and violently attempted to shut down the county courthouses to prevent foreclosure proceedings on their farms, but more importantly exposed the weaknesses of the National Government under the Articles of Confederation and led many to call for a new Constitution.
Term
James Madison
Definition
The "Father of the Constitution", he helped secure the Constitutional Convention in 1786 with Hamilton, helped write the Constitution, and was one of the lead authors of the Federalist Papers and believed in a strong, central government and eventually became the fourth President of the United States.
Term
Constitutional Convention
Definition
A meeting intended to amend the Articles of Confederation, delegates came to the convention from every state except Rhode Island in May of 1787 and decided to draft an entirely new framework of government that would give greater powers to the central government which ultimately became known as the Constitution.
Term
Virginia Plan
Definition
The first major proposal presented to the Constitutional Convention concerning congressional representation, this plan proposed the creation of a bicameral legislature with representation in both houses proportional to population, which obviously favored large states who would have a much greater voice than the small states.
Term
New Jersey Plan
Definition
Presented at the Constitutional Convention, this plan proposed a unicameral Congress with equal representation for each state that tended to favor small states who had small populations.
Term
Connecticut Compromise/Great Compromise
Definition
Reconciled the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan for determining legislative representation in Congress, this plan established equal representation for all states in the Senate and proportional representation by population in the House of Representative.
Term
3/5 Compromise
Definition
This was a compromise between the Northern and Southern states that would count 60% of slaves as people to be represented concerning representation in the House of Representatives, ensuring the Constitution to be ratified at the expense of slaves who were denied political rights.
Term
Sovereignty
Definition
According to Madison, ultimate power did not reside with either state of federal government, but rather from the people with state and federal governments were distributed on the basis of what each would need to work effectively.
Term
Charles Beard
Definition
Reinterpreted the Constitution of the United States to show it was an economic document designed to protect the interests of the wealthy through the promotion of industry trade, protecting private property, and to pay back public war debts and not designed to protect political rights.
Term
Anti-Federalists
Definition
During the ratification in 1788, these people opposed the Constitution on the grounds that it gave the federal government too much political, economic, and military control and instead advocated a decentralized governmental structure that granted most powers to the states.
Term
Separation of Powers
Definition
Madison proposed to have power concentrated in three separate parts of the government, the legislative, judicial, and executive, all "checking each other" and would therefore prevent any single, oppressive authority from taking complete control of the government.
Term
Bill of Rights
Definition
The first ten amendments of the Constitution, which guarantee the civil rights of all American citizens, promoted by anti-federalists and were designed to protect individuals from the tyranny they felt the Constitution might permit.
Term
Ratification
Definition
Between 1787 and 1788, this was the process of approving the Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation and proceeded relatively quickly over the opposition of the anti-federalists and was ratified by all states by 1790.
Term
Protective Tariff
Definition
A tariff designed to make imports more expensive and therefore make the manufactured goods made in America less expensive than the competition, which channels more money toward the American businesses.
Term
Revenue Tariff
Definition
A tariff designed to make more revenue (money) for the Federal Government by charging a tax on imports, this method was used for most of the federal income for most of the nineteenth century.
Term
Federalists
Definition
Led by Alexander Hamilton, Federalists believed in a strong central government at the expense of state powers and were staunch supporters of the Constitution during the ratification process and were popular for approximately thirty years afterward but went into decline after the presidency of Thomas Jefferson and disappeared altogether after the Hartford Convention.
Term
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Definition
Written in 1798 by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, these resolves condemned the Federalists' broad interpretation of the Constitution and instead put forth a compact theory of the Union, which stated that states' rights superseded federal powers, originally to protest the Alien and Sedition Acts though would be drawn upon later by advocated of slavery.
Term
Boston Port Act
Definition
In 1774 this created as an act of Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party and outlawed the use of the Port of Boston (by imposing a naval blockade) for trade until the Boston colonies repaid the east India Company and the King's treasury (for taxes lost on the unsold tea), which outraged most colonists who depended on trade from Boston for basic supplies (this was part of the Intolerable/Coercive Acts).
Term
Administration of Justice Act
Definition
Popularly called the Murdering Act when it was created in 1774, this act granted public officials the choice to leave the United States and be tried in Britain (or another colony) when charged with a crime when they suppressed a riot against the King of themselves, which further enraged colonists (this was part of the Intolerable/Coercive Acts).
Term
Ticoderoga
Definition
This fort was captured in 1775 by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, capturing cannons and other weapons used to break the British siege of Boston by Washington, emboldening the Continental army and lifting morale during a critical time.
Term
Powers of the Purse
Definition
In the 1770s Britain sought to make royal governors and judges more dependent upon Parliament than upon the colonists in order to ensure loyalty by putting them on the British (not local) payroll under a provision in the Townshend Act.
Term
Writs of Assistance
Definition
Legalized by Parliament during the French and Indian War, these were general search warrants that allowed British customs officers to search any colonial building or ship that they believed might contain smuggled goods, even without probably cause for suspicion which outraged the colonists who considered the writs to be a grave infringement upon their personal liberties.
Term
Natural Rights
Definition
John Locke's belief that everyone was born into the world with inalienable privileges, generally considered life, liberty, and land during this time was widely accepted in America.
Term
Admiralty Courts
Definition
This court system angered the colonies for many of the following reasons: cases were often held far away in Canada or even in Britain with people unfamiliar with the local situations, judges were paid in part by the "successful" cases that judges ruled against colonists, no trials by jury, and weak evidence standards allowed Britain to assert an active role in the colonial affairs.
Term
Consent of the Governed
Definition
The theory that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use power is justified only when it is roots from the people or society that the power is exercised.
Term
Admiral de Grasse
Definition
This French officer landed French army reinforcements and defeated the British fleet in the Battle of Chesapeake in 1781, allowing him to blockade the coast Cornwallis was trying to flee in Yorktown, ensuring independence for America.
Term
Land Ordinance of 1785
Definition
A success under the Articles of Confederation, this allowed Congress to sell land in the Northwest United States in any orderly manner in square mile of land while also providing needed revenue to the government.
Term
Township System
Definition
Established in the Land Ordinance of 1785, this system was a six-mile square (36 miles)divided into 36 sections, each one-mile square or 640 acres that would compromise a town.
Term
Annapolis Convention
Definition
Delegates from five states met in September 1786 to discuss interstate commerce (business), but their discussions of weaknesses in the government led them to suggest to Congress a new convention to amend the Articles of Confederation.
Term
Salutary Neglect
Definition
The English government's policy of not enforcing certain trade laws it imposed upon the American colonies throughout the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, with the purpose being to ensure the loyalty of the colonists in the face of the French territorial and commercial threat in North America.
Term
Federal System
Definition
The dual levels of the state and federal governments where each government has complete authority in their unique roles, allowing that some powers (like taxation) that each can use, with the federal laws reigning supreme when state and federal laws conflict.
Term
Unitary System
Definition
Where the federal government holds ultimate authority and delegates only some powers to sub-national (state) governments when it is convenient.
Term
Enumerated (Delegated) Powers
Definition
The federal government may exercise only those powers that are granted to it by the constitution and are limited by the Bill of Rights and other protections found in the Constitution.
Term
Reserved Powers
Definition
Any power not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states are reserved for the states.
Term
Concurrent Powers
Definition
Powers that both the state and federal government may exercise simultaneously on the same territory and the same citizens (taxation, making roads, etc).
Term
Countryside in Arms
Definition
Like hitting a pillow, lacking a specific target to bring the force of the elite British military, England floundered to find legitimate and effective targets against the colonists and were unable to end the uprising.
Term
Tactical Victory
Definition
When one side wins a battle, completes a desired objective, and the losses of the defeated outweigh those of the victor.
Term
Moral Victory
Definition
One side might lose the battle, but gains some other positive emotional effect (Bunker Hill).
Term
Defensive War
Definition
War where one nation is mainly trying to defend itself from another as opposed to a war where both sides are trying to conquer each other.
Term
Nerve Center
Definition
A target of military/political/social significance that can be destroyed; the lack of one on the Continental side made it difficult for the British to end the rebellion.
Term
The Crisis Papers
Definition
A series of pamphlets written by Thomas Paine that clarified the issues at stake in the war and rejected a negotiated peace without independence in words that everyone could understand which greatly helped the morale of the American colonists.
Term
Cowpens
Definition
Battle in 1781 that was a decisive Continental victory in the Southern campaign of the Revolutionary War that forced the British north towards the Battle of Saratoga.
Term
Checks and Balances
Definition
The principles established by the Constitution to prevent any one branch of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) from gaining too much power, trying to resolve the problem of how to empower the central government while also protecting against corruption.
Term
Strict Constructionism
Definition
Favored a literal reading of the Constitution in order to limit the powers of the central government, those who supported this view were led by Thomas Jefferson and comprised the ideological core of the Republican Party.
Term
Loose Constructionism
Definition
Favored a broad/general reading of the Constitution in order to expand the powers of the central government to include implied constitutional powers (not just enumerated ones), those who supported this view were led by Alexander Hamilton and comprised the ideological core of the Federalist Party.
Term
George Washington
Definition
He defined the role of the president and intervened little in legislative affairs and concentrated mostly on diplomacy as well as supporting the financial policies of Alexander Hamilton and set the precedent of presidents serving only two terms of office.
Term
Henry Knox
Definition
President Washington selected this man in 1789 to serve as Secretary of War under the Constitution, establishing a permanent presidential cabinet position to handle military matters in the new American government that still exists today.
Term
Assumption
Definition
Hamilton's plan for the federal government to take over all debts incurred during the Revolutionary War by the states and pay them in full, establishing the United States as a dependable borrower, which helped international loans and prosperity flow to America.
Term
Federalist Party
Definition
Led by Alexander Hamilton in the 1790s, this political party believed in a strong central government at the expense of state powers and were staunch supporters of the Constitution during the ratification process until thirty years later it disbanded after public rebuke of the Hartford Convention.
Term
Bank of the United States
Definition
Alexander Hamilton's most controversial portion of his economic plan, the creation of this organization would allow the national treasury to keep its deposits in one safe location, but many like Jefferson and Madison opposed this organization on the grounds it disproportionately helped the wealthy elites and created the Democratic-Republican political party to oppose Federalist policies.
Term
Alexander Hamilton
Definition
One of the authors The Federalists Papers and the outspoken leader of the Federalists, he supported the formation of the Constitution and later, as secretary of treasury under Washington, spearheaded Federalist initiatives, most importantly the creation of the Bank of the United States.
Term
French Revolution
Definition
This war took place between 1789 and 1793 and indirectly challenged America's sovereignty, as George Washington had to decide whether to commit troops to the cause (as they had done four our war earlier) and risk upsetting Britain or remain neutral, and while some initially celebrated the spreading of Enlightenment ideals it became clear this was a very different war that was both bloody and ruthless.
Term
Whiskey Rebellion
Definition
A July 1794 riot broke out in western Pennslyvania in response to a high excise tax on whiskey initiated by Alexander Hamiliton, President Washington personally led a force of militiamen to crush the rebellion in a show of national strength under the Constitution that was lacking under the Articles of Confederation.
Term
Jay Treaty 1794
Definition
A 1794 treaty that provided for the removal of British troops from American land, but failed to resolve the issue of British seizure of American ships and/or the impressments of American sailors which infuriated the public even though it was arguably the greatest diplomatic feat of the Washington administration since it preserved peace with Britain.
Term
Citizen Genet
Definition
In 1793 this French diplomat came to the United States to ask the government for money and troops to aid the French Revolution but secretly began recruiting men and arming ships in US ports which Washington took firm action to send Genet back to France, firmly establishing neutrality as the foreign policy of the United States.
Term
Neutrality Proclamation
Definition
Washington's declaration that the US would not take sides in the French Revolution south to avoid conflict for the unprepared United States but also violated the Franco-American Treaty of 1778.
Term
Isolationism
Definition
Washington's long-lasting foreign policy was for the United States to avoid "entangling alliances" with foreign nations that might drag us into wars that would not be beneficial to the people.
Term
Pickney Treaty 1795
Definition
A 1795 Treaty that settled boundaries and allowed the US navigation rights along the Mississippi and the "right of deposit" in New Orleans, which essentially confirmed the neutral foreign policy Washington sought by removing Spain as a threat to further American settlement to the west.
Term
Washington's Farewell Address
Definition
This speech was made in 1797 as the president left office, warning the new nation to remain neutral with regard to European affairs, avoid entangling alliances, and refrain from the formation of political parties to prosper in the future.
Term
John Adams
Definition
This man was the first vice president and second president who led the country through a series of important events including the XYZ Affair, Alien and Sedition Acts, and the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions while maintaining the country on a path of neutrality in foreign affairs.
Term
Election of 1796
Definition
The first true presidential election (when Washington ran there was no doubt he would win), John Adams ran and won as a federalist over Jefferson who was a Democratic-Republican.
Term
XYZ Affair
Definition
French harassment of American shipping in 1797 led John Adams to send a diplomat to negotiate for peace but the French foreign minister Charles de Talleyrand refused to meet and instead sent three anonymous agents to try to extort over $12 million from the Americans in exchange for negotiation rights which outraged the American people which resulted in an undeclared "quasi-war".
Term
Charles Talleyrand
Definition
The French foreign minister who refused to meet with the US diplomats and instead sent three anonymous agents to extorts over $12 million from the Americans in exchange for the right to negotiate and caused the "quasi-war".
Term
Quasi War
Definition
A series of French and American naval conflicts occurring between 1798 and 1800 that never escalated past many minor skirmishes.
Term
Virginia and Kentucky Resolves
Definition
Written in 1798 by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, these resolves condemned the Federalists' broad interpretation of the Constitution and instead put forth a compact theory of the Union, which stated that states' rights superseded federal powers, originally to protest the Alien and Sedition Acts though would be drawn upon later by advocates of slavery.
Term
Alien and Sedition Acts
Definition
Passed by Federalists in 1798 in response to the XYZ Affair and growing Democratic-Republican support on the basis of "nation security," this law increased the number of years required to gain citizenship, allowed for the imprisonment and deportation of aliens, and virtually suspended freedom of speech which led to massive popular dissatisfaction and secured Republic Thomas Jefferson's bid for presidency in 1800 as well as the undoing of the Federalist Party.
Term
Nullification
Definition
The belief that an individual state has the right to ignore any federal law that the state felt was unjust, first expressed in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.
Term
Election of 1800
Definition
A presidential election that resulted in a tie between two Democratic-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and Burr, the final decision went to the House of Representatives and Jefferson was finally chosen but concerned legislatures were prompted to pass the 12th Amendment to ensure this problem never arose again.
Term
Second Great Awakening
Definition
Emerged in the early 1800s as part of the backlash against American's growing secularism and rationalism, a wave of religious revivals stressing self-determination and individual empowerment spread throughout the nation giving rise to a number of new denominations during the second quarter of the nineteenth century.
Term
Revolution of 1800
Definition
Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, was elected to replace a federalist and the transfer of power went smoothly and changed the direction of the government.
Term
Aaron Burr
Definition
Alexander Hamilton's arch-nemesis and one of the leading Democratic-Republicans, he tied Jefferson in the Electoral College in the 1800 Presidential election but the presidency was awarded to Jefferson and he became vice-president.
Term
Judiciary Act of 1801
Definition
An 1801 bill passed by the Federalist Congress before the inauguration of Jefferson and other Democratic Republicans, the Federalists attempted to maintain control of the judiciary by reducing the number of Supreme Court justices and by increasing the number of federal judges Adam could appoint before leaving office known as "Midnight Judges".
Term
Thomas Jefferson
Definition
Third President of the United States (1801-1809), he was opposed to Alexander Hamilton's efforts to centralize power in the national government by strictly interpreting the constitution and advocated the limitation of federal power EXCEPT with his purchase of the Louisiana territory and his struggle to maintain neutrality in foreign affairs.
Term
Noah Webster
Definition
In 1783 Webster promoted education so that students would become patriots and created a simplified and Americanized system of spelling which sold over 100 million of his American Spelling Books & Dictionaries that essentially established a national standard of words and usages.
Term
Samuel Slater
Definition
Created the first modern factory (a spinning mill) in 1790 at Rhode Island, bringing advanced English technology into America and helped jump-start American industrial development.
Term
Eli Whitney
Definition
In 1793 this man dramatically changed the economy with his inventions of interchangeable parts and the cotton gin, which revolutionized both the southern agriculture economy and the need for slaves as well as the northern industrial economy in the South.
Term
Cotton Gin
Definition
Invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, the cotton gin quickly separated the fibers of short-staple cotton from the seeds which allowed plantations to become much more efficient and profitable and gave rise to a cotton-dominated economy in the South.
Term
Robert Fulton
Definition
In 1807 this inventory was responsible for perfecting the steamboat and bringing it to the attention of the nation, which further aided industrial development by allowing goods to quickly and profitably move around the nation.
Term
Albert Gallatin
Definition
In 1802 Secretary of Treasury under President Jefferson, this man drastically reduced government spending and repaid half of the national debt, forging the small government of Jefferson's design.
Term
Midnight Appointments/Midnight Judges
Definition
This terms refers to the men President Adams appointed in the last days in office in accordance with the Judiciary Act of 1801, who would serve in the courts during Jefferson's administration and sought to maintain Federalist control of the judiciary branch of the federal government.
Term
John Marshall
Definition
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 until his death in 1835, it was under his leadership the court became an equally powerful federal force as the executive and legislative branches by establishing the principle of judicial review.
Term
Marbury v Madison
Definition
In this 1803 case, Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Judiciary Act of 1989 was unconstitutional because Congress had granted the Supreme Court powers beyond what the Constitution permitted and established the principle of judicial review.
Term
Judicial Review
Definition
Established by Chief Justice John Marshall in Marbury v Madison (1803), this principle held that the Supreme Court could declare an act of Congress unconstitutional dramatically increasing the power of the Supreme Court.
Term
Samuel Chase
Definition
A Supreme Court Justice in the early 1800s who Democratic Republicans targeted for impeachment because of his devout Federalists beliefs were a hindrance to Jefferson's policies, his acquittal helped establish that impeachment would not become a routine political weapon against justices serving in the courts allowing it to become a separate and equal branch of the government.
Term
Louisiana Purchase
Definition
Territory procured from Napoleon by the US in 1803 for $15 million, this nearly doubled the size of the nation, opened the West to exploration and settlement, increased power of the Democratic Republicans, and removed France as a threat, but also caused border disputes with foreign powers as well as congressional debates over the admission of new free/salve states from the region.
Term
Election of 1804
Definition
Democratic Candidate Jefferson easily won this political contest against Federalist Charles Pinckney reinforced the country's direction away from the Federalist and ensured Jefferson would leave a lasting impression on the country.
Term
Impressment
Definition
The 1800s British policy of boarding American ships in search of British naval deserters whom they would force back into service but would often seize Americans as well, provoking outrage in America who felt the British were violating their neutrality and ultimately was a major cause of the War of 1812.
Term
Continental system
Definition
This 1806 French system closed European ports to ships which had docked in Britain, intended to isolate their enemy Britain but also meant neutral American ships traveling to Britain would get caught in the Napoleonic War.
Term
Trafalgar
Definition
This 1805 naval battle was between the British navy versus the French and Spanish navies and resulted in a decisive victory for England (they lost no ships, compared to 22 out of 31 ships for the French and Spanish) which ensured British naval dominance in the world.
Term
James Madison
Definition
Fourth President of the United States (1809-1817), he began his political career as a Federalist and a staunch advocate of a strong central government but later became critical of excessive power in the central government and left the Federalist Party to join Thomas Jefferson in leading the Republican Party and later was the leader of the War of 1812.
Term
Embargo Act of 1807
Definition
Jefferson endorsed this law that forbade all importation and exportation in response to the Chesapeake-Leopard affair in hope that the ban would economically force Britain and France to recognize US neutrality, but resulted in damaging the American economy more than it did Britain or France's eventually leading to the acts repeal.
Term
Non-intercourse Act
Definition
Replaced the Embargo Act in 1809, this law only forbade trade with France and Britain in an attempt to heal the damage done by the Embargo Act but keep economic pressure on Britain and France but did not succeed.
Term
Macon's Bill #2
Definition
Madison's 1810 ploy to get Britain or France to lift trade restrictions, which stated US trade sanctions were lifted with the promise that if one country agreed to free trade with the US than sanctions would be re-imposed against the other nation which France quickly agreed to.
Term
Chesapeake Leopard Incident
Definition
In June 1807, the British naval frigate HMS Leopard open fired on the American naval frigate USS Chesapeake for refusing to allow British to board, killing three men and wounding twenty then boarding and hanging of four more suspected deserters which outraged Thomas Jefferson who responded with the Embargo Act.
Term
Mad Anthony Wayne
Definition
A former leading general of the Continental army, Wayne went looking to battle Native Americans for attacking US citizens and won the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794 which paved the way for settlement of the Ohio Valley.
Term
The Prophet
Definition
Tecumseh's brother, Tenskwatawa, was a charismatic religious leader and orator whose message united many Native tribes behind his political and military objectives to challenge the encroaching American population on their lands.
Term
Tecumseh
Definition
The Prophet's brother and a Shawnee chief who tried to unite Native American tribes in Ohio and Indiana to thwart white settlement, his forces were ultimately defeated in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe but later allied with the British during the War of 1812.
Term
War Hawks
Definition
A group of western and southern settlers who advocated fighting to resolve disputes with Britain of impressment and the arming of Native Americans on the Frontier, that was led by John Calhoun and Henry clay, who hoped to acquire western, southwestern, and Canadian territories as well.
Term
Mr. Madison's War
Definition
Fought between the US and Great Britain from 1812-1814, the war was essentially a stalemate but the American public believed the US had won the war after news spread of General Andrew Jackson's decisive victory at the Battle of New Orleans which led to an exuberant spirit of nationalism and optimism for years in America.
Term
Battle of Lake Erie
Definition
One of the largest naval battles in the War of 1812 occurred in September 1813, when commander Oliver Perry led the US Navy to defeat six British vessels, which ensured American control of the lake, and ultimately allowed the US to recover Detroit as well as break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh.
Term
William Henry Harrison
Definition
Led by future president, US forces defeated Shawnee forces in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, which curtailed the Native american threat in Ohio and Indiana encouraging more settlement and enraging the Native Americans.
Term
Battle of Tippecanoe
Definition
Led by future president William Henry Harrison, US forces defeated Shawnee forces in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The US victory lessened the Native American threat in Ohio and Indiana.
Term
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
Definition
In Alabama on March 1814, Andrew Jackson led the United States Army and Native American allies to victory over the Creek Indian tribe, effectively ending the Creek War and destroying the hopes of an Indian state that could resist future white settlement.
Term
Battle of Plattsburgh/Battle of Lake Champlain
Definition
In September of 1814, the British invaded the town of Plattsburgh, but had to abandon the attack after they failed to control the surrounding water that ultimately denied the British any territorial claims against the United States in the peace Treaty of Ghent.
Term
Francis Scott Key
Definition
A Washington lawyer who witnessed an attack on Fort McHenry in September 1814 and wrote the Star Spangled Banner which in 1931 became the national anthem.
Term
Andrew Jackson
Definition
Before becoming president, he gained popularity as a general who launched aggressive military campaigns against Native Americans and led the US to a stunning victory over British forces at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, persuading many Americans they had won the entire war.
Term
Battle of New Orleans
Definition
Although it ended in stalemate with the Treaty of Ghent, the American public believed the US had won the war after news spread of General Andrew Jackson's decisive victory at this battle, which occurred two weeks after the signing of the treaty.
Term
Secession
Definition
Discussion for a state to leave the Union of the United States because of deep political differences with the way the majority of states are running the government.
Term
Hartford Convention
Definition
A meeting of Federalists that ultimately destroyed the political party near the end of the War of 1812, the New England based party enumerated its complaints against the ruling of the Republican Party and proposed seven amendments and hoped that antiwar sentiment would return them to power but news of the successful Battle of New Orleans made their actions in Hartford seem traitorous and antagonistic to the unity of the cooperation of the Union.
Term
Treaty of Ghent
Definition
Signed on Christmas Eve in 1815, this treaty ended the War of 1812 and returned relations between the US and Britain to the status quo.
Term
Rush-Bagot Treaty
Definition
This 1817 treaty between the United States and Britain provided for the Great Lakes region to be demilitarized, demonstrating a remarkably quick and improving relationship between the US and England following the War of 1812.
Term
Second Bank of the U.S.
Definition
Charted in 1819 this institution served as a depository for federal funds and a creditor for state banks but was blamed for the panic of 1819, and corruption/mismanagement haunted it until its charter was let to expire under President Jackson in 1836 who proclaimed it to be an unconstitutional extension of the federal government and a tool that rich capitalists used to corrupt American society.
Term
National Road/Cumberland Road
Definition
This helped fulfill a pressing need to improve the transportation system in 1825 by building a path from Cumberland, Maryland to the Ohio River and allowed unprecedented amounts of manufactured goods and people move about the country contributing to an expanding economy.
Term
Tariff of 1816
Definition
An 1816 protective duty that effectively limited competition from abroad on a wide range of manufactured items drawing criticism from agricultural areas but forging an important American industrial economy prevailed.
Term
Erie Canal
Definition
America's first major canal project, New York Governor Dewitt Clinton began its construction in 1817 and completed it in 1825 linking the Judson River to the Great Lakes which dramatically lowered the cost of shipping and led to the growth of port cities along the length of the canal and its terminal points.
Term
John Jacob Astor
Definition
One of America's all-time richest individuals, in 1812 he owned a highly successful fur company and exemplified the opportunity to make a fortune as well as America's expansion into the western frontier.
Term
Mountain Men
Definition
Fur trappers that spearheaded the western movement in the early 1800s, these tough individuals moved into the far western areas of the continent in search of furs that were becoming scarce in the east.
Term
James Monroe
Definition
President from 1817 until 1825, his presidency was the core of the Era of Good Feelings, characterized by a one-party political system, increasing opportunity, expansion westward, an upsurge of American nationalism, and his own efforts to avoid political controversy and conflict.
Term
Era of Good Feelings
Definition
The period between the end of the War of 1812 and the rise of Andrew Jackson in 1828, during which the United States was governed under a one-party system that promoted nationalism and cooperation ,which was exemplified best by James Monroe's presidency as he strove to avoid political conflict and strengthen American nationalism.
Term
John C. Calhoun
Definition
Political figure throughout the Era of Good Feelings and the Age of Jackson, he served as James Monroe's secretary of war, as John Quincy Adam's vice president, and then as Andrew Jackson's vice president for one term but his belief's in states' rights and nullification ultimately brought him into conflict with Jackson.
Term
Adams-Onis Treaty
Definition
This treaty was signed in 1819 between the U.S. and Spain, in which Spain ceded eastern Florida to the U.S., renounced all claims to western Florida, and agreed to a southern border of the U.S. west of the Mississippi extending all the way to the Pacific Ocean while the US agreed to give up Texas that helped define the US-Mexico border.
Term
Florida Purchase Treaty
Definition
The US agreed to purchase Florida by assuming $5 million worth of Spanish debt as part of the Adams-Onis Treaty.
Term
John Quincy Adams
Definition
Son of John Adams, secretary of state to James Monroe and president from 1825 to 1829, he worked to expand the nation's borders and authored the Monroe Doctrine but his presidency was largely ineffective due to lack of popular support resulting in a Congress that blocked many of his proposed programs.
Term
Panic of 1819
Definition
The start of the two-year depression caused by extensive land speculation, the loose lending practices of state banks, a decline in European demand for American staple goods, and mismanagement within the Second Bank of the United States, this economic downturns exacerbated social divisions within the United States and is often called the beginning of the end of the Era of Goods Feelings.
Term
36-30
Definition
The infamous line marked by the Missouri Compromise, these coordinates prohibited slavery north of the latitude line but allowed slavery to spread southward which (temporarily at least) resolved the threat of sectionalism to the Union.
Term
Missouri Compromise
Definition
Resolved the conflict surrounding the admission of Missouri to the Union as either a slave or free state, this made Missouri a slave state, admitted Maine as a free state, and prohibited slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory.
Term
Nationalism
Definition
The growing patriotic feelings toward the entire country was spurred on by President Monroe, and beginning to supersede the pride one felt toward the state which they lived.
Term
Dartmouth College v Woodward
Definition
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the state of New Hampshire could not convert Dartmouth College to a state university because doing so would violate the college's contract granted by King George II in 1769, and the Constitution forbids states from interfering with contracts which Democratic Republicans interpreted as a shocking defeat for states' rights and exposed the political conflicts still occurring during the Era of Good Feelings.
Term
McCulloch v Maryland
Definition
1819 Supreme Court case that determined states could not tax federal institutions such as the Second Bank of the United States, this ruling asserted that the federal government wielded supreme power in its sphere and that no states could interfere with the exercise of federal powers which angered many Democratic Republicans who favored states' rights.
Term
Cohens v Virginia
Definition
An 1821 Marshall Court ruling that upheld the Supreme Court's jurisdiction to review a state court's decision where the case involved breaking federal laws (it reviewed a case from Virginia dealing with the sale of lottery tickets) that angered Virginia (even though the Supreme Court ruling agreed with Virginia) because this asserted federal authority over that of the states authority.
Term
Daniel Webster
Definition
One of the country's leading statesmen in the first half of the nineteenth century, he was a Federalist layer from New Hampshire who won the Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) and McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Supreme Court cases, elected to Congress in 1822, and became a powerful defender of northern interests supporting the 1828 tariff and objecting to nullification and opposed many of Andrew Jackson's policies.
Term
Fletcher v Peck
Definition
1810 Marshall Supreme Court ruling over Georgia's legislative attempt to revoke a land grant on the grounds that it had been obtained by corruption, the Court ruled that state cannot arbitrarily interfere with a person's property rights which marked the first time a state law was voided on the grounds that is violated a principle of the United States Constitution.
Term
Gibbons v Ogden
Definition
1824 Supreme Court case involving state versus federal licensing rights for passenger ships between New York and New Jersey, devoted Federalist Marshall ruled that the state could not interfere with Congress' right to regulate interstate commerce by interpreting the "commerce" broadly to include all business, not just the exchange of goods.
Term
Worchester v Georgia
Definition
1832 Supreme Court where Chief Justice John Marshall ruled the Cherokee tribe comprised a "domestic dependent nation" within Georgia and thus deserved protection from harassment -- in this case, from forced migration out of Georgia but that did little to deter Andrew Jackson who removed all Native Americans by 1838.
Term
Monroe Doctrine
Definition
Issued by President Monroe in December 1823, the doctrine asserted that the Americas were no longer open to European colonization or influence, and paved the way for U.S. dominance of the Western Hemisphere.
Term
American System
Definition
The system devised by Henry Clay after the War of 1812, supported industrialization and included using federal money for internal improvements, enacting a protective tariff to foster the growth of American industries, while also strengthening the national bank but was not back by Monroe but gained support with John Quincy Adams.
Term
States' Rights
Definition
The concept that the individual states, and not the federal government, have the power to decide whether federal legislation or regulations are to be enforced within the individual states, supported by New England Federalists in the War of 1812 but later many southerners in response to federal legislation around the Civil War and later Civil Rights in the 1960s.
Term
Henry Clay
Definition
An important political figure during the Era of Good Feelings and the Age of Jackson, he engineered and championed the American System, as speaker of the House he was instrumental in crafting much of the legislation that passed through Congress including the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Compromise of 1833, and the Compromise of 1850 until he died in 1852.
Term
Election of 1824
Definition
A presidential election where failed to win the electoral vote, so the election went to the House of Representatives where influential speaker of the House Henry Clay backed Adams to win the election.
Term
John Quincy Adams
Definition
Son of John Adams, secretary of state to James Monroe and president from 1825 to 1829, he worked to expand the nation's borders and authored the Monroe Doctrine but his presidency war largely ineffective due to lack of popular support resulting in a Congress that blocked many of his proposed programs.
Term
"Corrupt Bargain"
Definition
Although Andrew Jackson won the highest percentage of popular and electoral votes in the 1824 election, he failed to win the required majority and the election was thrown to the House of Representatives where Clay backed Quincy Adams for president ensuring Adams' victory and in return rewarded Clay by making him the secretary of state.
Term
William Crawford
Definition
A presidential candidate in 1824, his poor health took him out of consideration in the disputed election which allowed Clay to shift his votes to Quincy Adams and win the election.
Term
Democratic Republic Party
Definition
This party was comprised mainly of Anti-Federalists and generally opposed the power of the federal government over state governments; this party dominated presidential elections and was led by Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson.
Term
"Tariff of Abominations"
Definition
Name given by Southern politicians to the 1828 duty because it seriously hurt the South's economy while benefiting Northern and Western industrial interests, and popular resistance to the tariff in South Carolina led to the Nullification Crisis.
Term
National Republicans
Definition
Led by Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams, this political party was one of the two new political parties that emerged in the late 1820s to challenge the dominant Republican Party and found its core support in the industrial Northeast and late transformed into the Whig Party.
Term
Thomas McDonough
Definition
His most notable achievement occurred during the War of 1812, where as commander of American naval forces in Lake Champlain he won the decisive Battle of Lake Champlain/Battle of Platssburgh to help secure the United States would lose no territory to the British when writing the Treaty of Ghent.
Term
Election of 1808
Definition
This presidential election was between Democratic Republican James Madison and Federalist Charles Pinckney, the country overwhelmingly selected the Democratic Republican party continuing the Federalists decline.
Term
Fort McHenry
Definition
The 1812 Baltimore stronghold against British invasion, Francis Scott Key witnessed a devastating attack and penned the Star Spangled Banner as the US forces refused to surrender.
Term
Sectionalism
Definition
Different areas of the country were developing unique and separate cultures would could potentially lead to conflict.
Term
Joint Occupation
Definition
In the Convention of 1818, the US and British negotiated to both occupy Oregon as "being free and open" to subjects of both states in order to prevent future conflict over the territory, signaling improving relations with Britain.
Term
Convention of 1800/Treaty of Mortefontaine
Definition
A meeting between US and France to settle hostilities that occurred during the Quasi-War which signaled improving relations with France and marked the end of foreign alliances for the United States.
Term
Full Funding
Definition
Hamilton's controversial plan to repay all debt at face value, which would greatly enrich the wealthy but also stabilize the nation's financial credibility.
Term
Customs Duties
Definition
A tax of tariff on the exports of goods, a source of revenue for the new government.
Term
Right of Deposit
Definition
The ability to store goods in a port like New Orleans.
Term
Austerlitz
Definition
Napoleon's greatest military victory, defeating a Russian & Austrian army in a display of brilliant tactical decisions and ended the Third Estate War in France.
Term
Orders in Council
Definition
The British Response to the French Continental System in 1807, Britain forbade French trade with England, her colonies, or neutrals and instructed the Royal Navy to blockade the French and Allied ports which meant neutral American ships traveling to France would get caught in the Napoleonic War.
Term
Berlin and Milan decrees
Definition
Napoleon's order in 1806 in order to cut Britain off from the rest of the world, which meant that American ships traveling to Britain to deposit goods would get caught in the Napoleonic War.
Term
Andrew Jackson
Definition
President from 1829 to 1837 this strong-willed leader opposed federal support for internal improvements, the Second Bank of the United States, used the veto extensively, and fought for states' rights and Native American removal attaining the nickname "King Andrew I" by his critics who deemed him to be tyrannical and against the spirit of democracy.
Term
DeWitt Clinton
Definition
Governor of New York who played a key role in constructing the Erie Canal and symbolized the important roles political parties were becoming as his political opponent Van Buren stated a permanent political opposition would result in politicians being more attuned to the will of the people that encouraged the rise of mass politics and spread from New York to the rest of the country.
Term
Martin Van Buren
Definition
Vice President and later from 1837 to 1841, Van Buren took over as the panic of 1837 began and unable to win support from his platform from the Whigs, and lost his bid for reelection in 1840.
Term
Rotation in Office
Definition
Jackson's idea to prevent corruption in government positions was to move government workers from one position to another frequently, and ultimately democratize the government and lead to reform by allowing the "common folk" to run the government.
Term
Spoils System
Definition
Andrew Jackson wholeheartedly supported his system, claiming it was necessary to liberty for the removal and replacement of high-ranking officials from the previous president's term with loyal members of the winning party.
Term
John C. Calhoun
Definition
Political figure throughout the Era of Good Feelings and the Age of Jackson, he served as James Monroe's secretary of war, as John Quincy Adam's vice president, and then as Andrew Jackson's vice president for one term, he was a firm believer in states' rights that ultimately clashed with Jackson, most notable over nullification.
Term
Kitchen Cabinet
Definition
Jackson's presidential cabinet, dubbed so because the members were his close political allies who had questionable political skills, this group assumed a passive and supportive role in contract to serving as a policy forum to help shape the president's agenda as previous cabinets had done.l
Term
Peggy O'Neale/Eaton
Definition
An attractive woman who was said to have had an extra-marital affair circulated in Washington that led to her being socially shunned, enraged free Andrew Jackson, and ultimately led Jackson to choose Van Buren as his next Vice president and ended Calhoun's chance at the presidency.
Term
Nullification
Definition
The "Tariff of Abominations" hurt the Southern economy while benefiting Northern and Western industries, which led Vice President John C. Calhoun to denounce the tariff as unconstitutional on the grounds that federal laws must benefit all states equally, and urged that states nullify the tariff within their own borders that sparked a heated national debate over tariffs and states' rights.
Term
Robert Y. Hayne
Definition
An American political leader and is most famous for debating Senator Daniel Webster in 1830 over the issue of states rights, and served to expose the conflict between New England and the Southern states to light the bitter resentment on both sides.
Term
South Carolina Exposition
Definition
This document, written by John C. Calhound, outlined the anger of the South in the face of the "Tariff of Abominations" and expressed the Southern contention that the tariff was unconstitutional, as it severely altered trade with Europe on which Southern farmers had become dependent.
Term
Black Hawk's War
Definition
Sauk and Fox Indians refused to uphold treaty signing away their land in Illinois that a rival enemy tribe had signed in 1831, and resettled part of the Northwest that whites feared was the beginning of an invasion so they brutally exterminated most of the Native Americans in this war, resulting in the near complete removal of Indians from the Northwest.
Term
Removal Act
Definition
Granted Jackson the fund and authority to move Native Americans to assigned lands in the West, this 1830 law primarily targeted the Cherokee tribe in Georgia as part of the federal government's broad plan to claim Native American lands inside the boundaries of the existing states.
Term
Cherokee Nation v Georgia
Definition
Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in 1832 that the Cherokee tribe comprised a "domestic dependent nation" within Georgia and thus deserved protection from harassment -- in this case, from forced migration out of Georgia, which President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce, and removed the Cherokee aggressively from their land.
Term
Trail Of Tears
Definition
Despite the Supreme Court decision in Worhester v. Georgia, federal troops forced bands of Cherokee Indians to move west of Mississippi between 1835 and 1838 in which 2,000-4,000 of the 16,000 Cherokee died.
Term
Cherokees
Definition
Native Americans tribe that even some whites argued should be allowed to retain their eastern lands since they had become "civilized" and given up many of their traditional ways, but their removal symbolized that all Native Americans would be pushed off their original lands and moved as the United States settlement spread westward.
Term
Seminole War
Definition
The uprising led by Osceola between 1835-1842 was the only (partially) successful resistance of white encroachment on Native American lands, and ultimately the US government finally gave up and let a very small contingent of Native Americans remain in the area instead of being forced westward.
Term
Second B.U.S
Definition
This 1816 institution served to stabilize the financial system but became unpopular after being blamed for the panic of 1819, corruption, and mismanagement until its charted expired in 1836 when Jackson proclaimed it to be an unconstitutional extension of the federal government and a tool that rich capitalists used to corrupt American society.
Term
Removal of Deposits
Definition
1832 Jackson was determined to destroy the Bank of the United States as soon as possible but could not legally end it before its chartered term was over, so instead took the government's money from the bank and placed it in state banks that essentially destroyed the BUS.
Term
Nicholas Biddle
Definition
Chairman of the Bank of the United States, he fought Jackson to re-enter the bank by causing an economic downturn but ultimately gave up and let the bank expire, allowing the country to lose a flawed but stable financial system.
Term
Daniel Webster
Definition
A leading Whig Senator during the nation's Antebellum Era, he beautifully articulated his nationalistic views and sought to preserve the Union with his most famous debate considered the most eloquent speech ever delivered in the Senate.
Term
Henry Clay
Definition
He led the Whig Party as Speaker of the House of Representatives until his death in 1852, his many achievements include engineering the American System, helping resolve the Missouri Compromise of 1820, designing the Compromise of 1833 and the Compromise of 1850.
Term
Election of 1832
Definition
Presidential election of Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay where the main issue was whether to re-charter the Bank of the United States, but Jackson's victory at the polls ensured the B.U.S death.
Term
Election of 1836
Definition
Presidential election where the Whigs ran four separate candidates thinking any of them could defeat the Democratic Republican Van Buren, but this strategy failed and Van Buren took the Presidency as the country slid into the Panic of 1937.
Term
Panic of 1837
Definition
This event punctured the economic boom sparked by the state banks' loose lending practices and over-speculation, the contraction of the nation's credit in 1836 led to widespread debt and unemployment which forced the President Van Buren to spend most of his time in office attempting to stabilize the economy and ameliorate the economic crisis.
Term
Specie Circular
Definition
A 1836 executive order issued by President Andrew Jackson in an attempt to stabilize the economy which had been dramatically expanding since the early 1830s due to state banks' excessive lending practices and over-speculation, this required that all land payments be made in gold and silver rather than in paper money/credit which would ultimately cause the economic depression known as the panic of 1837.
Term
William Henry Harrison
Definition
Ninth President of the United States and the first successful Whig presidential candidate, he was a westerner who fought against Native Americans and nickname "Old Tippecanoe" but he died a month into office because of pneumonia.
Term
John Tyler
Definition
Became President of the United States in 1841 after William Harrison died, Tyler drifted from the Whig ideas and policies and instead replaced his cabinet with Democrats as well resulting in little change from previous presidents policies.
Term
Whigs
Definition
The Whigs arose in opposition to President Jackson in the mid-1830s whose members consisted of the National Republican Party as well as some Northern Democrats, and sought protective tariffs, federal funding for internal improvements, and other measures that strengthened the central government/industrialization but the party disappeared by the 1850s, when its Northern and Southern factions irrevocably split over the slavery issue.
Term
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
Definition
This treaty was signed in August 1842 and settled US-Canadian boundary disputes including the Maine-New Brunswick border, established a detailed border between Lake Superior, resolved the Caroline steamship issue, as well as called for a final end to the slave trade on the high seas to be enforced by both countries which allowed America to focus on westward expansion and symbolized growing US-English rapprochement.
Term
Maine boundary dispute/Aroostook War
Definition
An undeclared war between Canada and Maine in 1838 over territory in dispute since the Treaty of Paris 1783 whose rich timber drew lumberjacks from both countries and violent brawls broke out on who had a legitimate claim to the area, this signified a tensing relationship between the US and Britain.
Term
Irish Potato Famine
Definition
A period of mass starvation in the 1840s that led to the island's population to decrease approximately 25% and proved to be a push-factor for immigrants to leave their home country and seek refuge in other countries like the United States and was part of the broader trend of mass immigration from Europe.
Term
Nativism
Definition
The fear and hatred of foreigners, particularly religious or ethnic minorities, emerged and even formed organizations that led to large street fights, printed materials, and even dedicated political party name the American/Know-Nothing party.
Term
The Know Nothings
Definition
This 1840s-1850s political group was an extreme wing of nativist movement that opposed immigration and the election of Roman Catholics to political office.
Term
Samuel F.B. Morse
Definition
Artist and inventor, he is most famous for his invention in telegraphy in 1844 that allowed for fast and cheap transfer of news connection every major town and also allowed for better coordination of business.
Term
Horace Greeley
Definition
This man's ownership of the Tribune Newspaper in 1846 represented the growing forms of journalism that gave serious attention to national and international events that would ultimately help unify American life.
Term
Interchangeable Parts
Definition
Originally designed by Eli Whitney for gun manufacturers, the idea had gained little momentum until the 1840s as more manufacturers began incorporation the idea into the production of their products allowing for the creation of faster and cheaper parts.
Term
Isaac Singer
Definition
Made improvements to the basic sowing machine developed by Howe in 1846, and was soon used to quickly and cheaply manufacture ready to wear clothing, demonstrating the technological innovations occurring within the vibrant commercial and industrial areas during the 1840s.
Term
Elias Howe
Definition
Invented the sewing machine in 1846, which made sewing faster and more efficient demonstrating the technological innovations occurring within the vibrant commercial and industrial areas during the 1840s.
Term
Francis Cabot Lowell
Definition
Lowell established a factory in 1814 at Waltham, Massachusetts that was the first factory in the world to manufacture cotton cloth by power machinery.
Term
Lowell System
Definition
Developed in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1820s that spread across the nation, in these factories as much machinery as possible was used so that few skilled workers were needed in the process that allowed for the cheaper production of products by paying lower wages.
Term
Lowell Factory Girls
Definition
As much machinery as possible was used so that a few skilled workers were needed in the process, yet the workers needed in the Lowell system were almost all single young farm women who worked for a few years and returned home to be housewives because managers found these young women worked about 80 hours a week and received low wages.
Term
Commonwealth v Hunt
Definition
An 1842 case heard by the Massachusetts Supreme Court, this was the first judgement in the Us that recognized the conspiracy law was inapplicable to the unions that strike for a "closed shop" are legal, as well as that unions were not responsible for the illegals acts of their members.
Term
Mary Lyon
Definition
In 1837 she founded the women's college Mount Holyoke, one of the few opportunities women had to gain access to education and break away from the "Cult of Domesticity."
Term
Cyrus Field
Definition
In 1858 this successful businessman laid the first successful telegraph wire across the Atlantic Ocean allowing for instantaneous communication between the Americans and Europe.
Term
Cyrus McCormick
Definition
Famous for building the mechanical reaping machine in 1831, this invention made farming dramatically more efficient and allow an agricultural revolution to coincide with the industrial revolution by allowing a single family/corporation to substantially increase the acreage that could be farmed.
Term
Cotton Kingdom
Definition
The new invention of the cotton gin allowed short staple cotton to be harvested, and allowed new states to produce cotton that led to a boom in the cotton market and encouraged westward expansion for additional farming areas.
Term
Peculiar Instituion
Definition
Term used to describe slavery, used in association with a defense of slavery and advocated slavery was a "positive good" establishing both an economic positive and a social positive by "establishing the proper relation between races."
Term
Denmark Vessey
Definition
As a slave he won the lottery and bought his own freedom and grew wealthier over time, but was ultimately accused of plotting a violent slave revolt with fellow church members and was hung as a symbol to other African Americans.
Term
Harriet Tubman
Definition
A former salve who helped establish and run the Underground Railroad, a network of safe houses and escorts throughout the North to help escaped slaves to freedom.
Term
Underground Railroad
Definition
A network of safe houses and escorts established by Northern abolitionists to foil enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, this helped escaped slaves reach freedom in the North and in Canada.
Term
Nat Turner
Definition
An American slave who led a rebellion in Virginia 1831 that resulted in 56 whites being killed as well as his own execution, and new laws prohibiting education, worship, and assembly as the South became increasingly united in their support of the fugitive slave laws.
Term
Washington Irving
Definition
Most famous author of his time who wrote stories like "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", he was the first American writer to be recognized in Europe and reflected an increasing American nationalism as he set stories based on American settings.
Term
The Hudson River School
Definition
This was a group of American landscape painters who depicted America's landscapes in a romantic manner and included artists like Thomas Cole and Thomas Doughtery.
Term
Edgar Allen Poe
Definition
A fiction writer who gained popularity in the 1840s for his horrific tales, he published many famous stories, including "The Raven" and "The Cask of Amontillado"
Term
Walt Whitman
Definition
A poet and a disciple of transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, his major work, Leaves of Grass(1855), celebrated American's individualism, diversity, and democracy.
Term
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Definition
A leader of the transcendentalist movement and an advocate of American literary nationalism. He published a number of influential essays during the 1830s and 1840s, including "Nature" and "Selt Reliance."
Term
Transcendentalism
Definition
A spiritual movement that arose in the 1830s as a challenge to rationalism, this goal was to achieve a personal/emotional understanding of God rather than a rational, institutionalized one and believed concepts such as absolute truth and freedom were accessible through intuition and sudden insight.
Term
Henry David Thoreau
Definition
A prominent transcendent writer, his most famous writings are Civil Disobedience(1849) and Walden(1854), where he advocated living life according to one's conscience, removed from materialism and repressive social codes.
Term
Margaret Fuller
Definition
She was a leader in the women's movement and editor of The Dial(1840-1842), which was a publication of the transcendentalists and appealed to people who wanted "perfect freedom" in hope that progress in philosophy would make the future better than the past.
Term
Oneida Community
Definition
Founded by John Noyes in 1848 sought to be the shining example of equality between all members was controversial because they shared EVERYTHING including spouses, children, and property which many considered immoral and ultimately the community died out.
Term
New Harmony
Definition
A completely equal Utopian settlement in Indiana lasting from 1825 to 1827, it had 1,000 settlers but a lack of political authority and complete economic failure caused it to break up, but demonstrated the romantic impulse sweeping through American culture.
Term
Shakers
Definition
A millennial group in the 1840s who believed in both Jesus, Ann Lee, equal gender roles, and celibacy, they believed in social discipline more than freedom and were more trying to escape a society they viewed as chaotic and disorderly, like many other Utopian groups during this time.
Term
Mormons/Latter-day Saints
Definition
An 1830 religion founded by Joseph Smith Jr., as Smith claimed to have received sacred writings that he organized his church around, but his declaration that sections of Christianity were incorrect and polygamy made many Mormons shunned or attacked and they eventually sought refuge near the Great Salt Lake that formed the basis of Utah.
Term
Brigham Young
Definition
After Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob in Illinois, this new Mormon leader collected the followers and moved into (present day) Utah in 1847.
Term
Joseph Smith
Definition
According to the Mormon beliefs, the angel Moroni visited this man in the western New York bedroom one night and told him of a sacred text which Smith found, translated, and formed the Mormon church around but his followers were ostracized and caused some violence by their surrounding community for practices and beliefs and were counter to mainstream Christian faith.
Term
Erie Canal
Definition
America's first major canal project, New York Governor DeWitt Clinton began its construction in 1817 and completed it in 1825 linking Hudson River to the Great Lakes which dramatically lowered the cost of shipping and led to the growth of port cities along the length of the canal and its terminal ports.
Term
Unitarianism
Definition
A group who rejected Calvinist religious ideas and preached the divinity of the individual similar to Emerson and Thoreau, giving the philosophical push towards remaking society as they felt it should be made.
Term
Horace Mann
Definition
Appointed secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837, he reformed the divinity of the individual similar to Emerson and Thoreau, giving the philosophical push towards remaking society as they felt it should be made.
Term
Dorothea Dix
Definition
A Massachusetts schoolteacher, she studied the condition of the insane in poorhouses and prisons and her efforts of reform helped bring about the creation of asylums, where the mentally ill could receive better treatment.
Term
Lucretia Mott
Definition
An outspoken proponent of women's right, she organized the Women's Rights Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 with Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Term
Dr.Elizabeth Blackwell
Definition
First woman to go to the graduate from medical school in the United States in 1849, she was a key figure in opening the medical profession to women and symbolized the progress of women in this time.
Term
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Definition
The discrimination against her inspired her to become a women's rights leader, and with her effort along with Lucretia she organized America's first woman's rights convention at the Seneca Falls Convention, became editor of the temperance newspaper the Lily, and eventually created the Woman's Loyal National League to help end slavery.
Term
Seneca Fall Convention
Definition
Organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1848, this meeting issued the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled on the Declaration of Independence, declaring that all men and women were created equal.
Term
Lucy Stone
Definition
An early women's rights advocate, she graduated from Oberlin College and dedicated her life to women's rights, organized the Nation Woman's Rights Convention, and in the 1840s set up education committees in towns and villages using her lecture fees to print and distribute women's rights propaganda.
Term
Susan B. Anthony
Definition
A leading member of women's suffrage movement, she helped draw parallels between slavery and the plight of women, and co-founded the National Women's Suffrage Association with Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1869.
Term
The Grimke Sisters
Definition
These women voiced their opposition to male dominance, and supported prison reform, the temperance movement, and the abolitionist movement in the 1840s.
Term
Stephen Austin
Definition
In 1822 he founded the first settlement of Americans in Texas and by 1833 he was sent by the colonists to negotiate with the Mexican government for Texas independence and was imprisoned in Mexico until 1835, when he returned to Texas and became the commander of the settlers' army in the Texas Revolution.
Term
The Alamo
Definition
A former Spanish mission converted into a fort, it was besieged by Mexican troops in 1836 for thirteen days, but the final battle killed all of the Texan defenders by the significantly larger Mexican force.
Term
San Jacinto
Definition
A surprise attack by Texas forces on Santa Ana's camp on April 21, 1836, the Mexican forces were surprised and overrun in twenty minutes and Santa Ana was taken prisoner and forced to sign an armistice securing Texas independence.
Term
Sam Housten
Definition
A leader of Texas independence, he defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto and claimed independence and requested both Jackson and Van Buren recognize Texas as a state but both declined in fear that it would become another slave state and lead to an imbalance in Congress infuriating the Northerners.
Term
John Jacob Astor
Definition
One of America's all-time richest individuals, in 1812 he owned a highly successful fur company that had expanded into the Oregon territory that both Britain and the United States had been barely settling up until the 1840s.
Term
Oregon Country
Definition
Oregon was originally explored by Lewis and Clark, sparsely settled by Astor's fur traders, but during the War of 1812 that British had essentially taken control of the territory and held it jointly with the US until the land was divided with the US in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, supported by Polk.
Term
Election of 1844
Definition
Presidential candidates Democrat James K. Polk, Whig Henry Clay, and Liberty Party James G. Birney ran for president and debated issues like Manifest Destiny in the annexation of Texas and reoccupation of Oregon, but in this election the third party candidate Birney drew enough votes away from Clay that Polk won the election.
Term
Annexation of Texas
Definition
Polk signed the final paperwork in 1845 to include the Lone Star State into the Union, partly out of fear that Britain or France might try to acquire the land if the United States delayed any further.
Term
Zachary Taylor
Definition
Twelfth President of the United States and a famous general during the Mexican-American War, he was a Whig President who opposed the spread of slavery and encouraged territories to organize and seek admission directly as states to avoid the issue of slavery but his impact was limited as he died suddenly in 1850, being replace by Millard Fillmore.
Term
49th Parrallel
Definition
Forms a large part of the US-Canadian border, negotiated out with Britain.
Term
James K. Polk
Definition
President from 1845 to 1849. A firm believer in expansion, Polk led the US into the Mexican War in 1846, after which the US acquired Texas, New Mexico, and California. Many Northerners saw Polk as an agent of Southern will aiming to expand the nation in order to extend slavery into the west.
Term
Slidell's Mission
Definition
Appointed minister of Mexico in 1845, he went to Mexico to pay for disputed Texas and California land but the Mexican government was still angry about the annexation of Texas and refused to speak with him which left only war to resolve issues between the two countries.
Term
John C. Fremont
Definition
The civil governor of California, he led the Army exploration with rumors of the Mexican-American War coming and thought he could take California but he ultimately joined Colonel Kearny and successfully took California.
Term
Winfield Scott
Definition
One of the finest generals to serve in the US Army, he led the US forces march on Mexico City during the Mexican American War and successfully took the city which ended the war.
Term
Nicholas Trist
Definition
Sent as a special envoy by President Polk to Mexico City in 1847 to negotiate an end to the Mexican War and concluded with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, where Mexico agreed to cede California and New Mexico.
Term
King Caucus
Definition
This system allowed congressmen to hold informal meetings and decide who to nominate for president with little or no input from the electorate and was the way every presidential candidate from 1796-1824 went, until the system ground to a halt with westward expansion decentralizing the existing political parties.
Term
Rachel Jackson
Definition
Wife of President Jackson, the 1828 election took a terrible toll on her health as she was accused of immodesty by being a bigamist and died right before the electoral ball for the new President, which demonstrated the level of dirty campaigning as well as provided the impetus for Jackson to get involved in the Peggy Eaton affair.
Term
Wildcat Banks
Definition
This refers to the unusual practices of chartering banks under state law from 1816 to 1863, and the federal government did not regulate banks and regulation varied greatly from state to state and led to frequent closure of banks who also issued their own money in this time making that money worthless.
Term
Maysville Road Veto
Definition
There was a bill proposed to building a road in Kentucky at federal expense, but Jackson vetoed the bill with the justification that roads only in one state should be paid with state money and putting into action his strict interpretation of the Constitution by not allowing by not allowing the federal government to pay for internal improvements.
Term
Tariff of 1832
Definition
In order to appease the South Andrew Jackson sought to lower tariffs from 45 percent to 35 percent, which did little to appease the South and led to South Carolina nullifying the tariff and threatening to secede from the Union and Jackson prepared for war but ultimately both backed down but demonstrated the increasing tensions between states and the Federal Government.
Term
Compromise Tariff of 1833
Definition
Proposed by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun to resolve the nullification crisis and gradually reduced tariff rates of 20% over a period of years but ultimately only lasted two months before a new protectionist tariff was created in 1842.
Term
Henry Clay
Definition
One of the most respected Speaker's of the House for many years, Clay repeatedly forged compromises that held the Union together including the Missouri Compromise, Compromise Tariff of 1833, and the Compromise of 1850 but his death in 1852 symbolically represented compromise between the two sides was lost.
Term
Rio Grande
Definition
Texas claimed its southern border was this river while Mexico wanted the border about 100 miles north, but Polk sent troops to the area and led to the Spot Incident and later war with Mexico, which resolved the border of Texas at this location.
Term
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Definition
This 1848 treaty required Mexico to cede the American Southwest, including New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California, to the US while the US gave Mexico $15 million in exchange, so that is would look like conquest and was ratified after a bitter debate over the expansion of slavery officially ending the Mexican-American War.
Term
William McGuffey
Definition
An American professor and college president best known for writing a series of readers, one of the nations first textbook and widely used helping create and increasingly similar school experience for students across the country and sold over 122 million copies.
Term
William Miller
Definition
A millennial group, Millerites were Seventh-Day Adventists who followed this man and sold their possessions because they believed the Second Coming of Christ would be in 1843 and 1844 and waited for the world to end.
Term
Charles Wilson Peale
Definition
An American naturalist painter who focused his work on portrait pictures and died in 1827.
Term
Brook Farm
Definition
An experiment in Utopian Socialism, it lasted for six years in New Roxbury, Massachusetts and was another example of the Romantic Impulse affecting the nation in the antebellum years.
Term
Maine Laws
Definition
In 1838, Dow founded the Maine Temperance Union and as mayor of Portland, Maine, Dow secured in 1851 the state's passage of this law, which forbade the sale of manufacture of liquor.
Term
Independent Treasury Bill
Definition
Van Buren and Polk meant to keep government out of banking this required vaults to be constructed in various cities to collect and expand government funds in gold and silver, this took effect after the 2nd BUS was destroyed and a method for maintaining government funds with minimum risk.
Term
Liberia
Definition
The American Colonization Society purchased a tract of land in Africa and sought to return free Blacks here.
Term
The Liberator
Definition
An influential abolitionist newspaper published by radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison from 1831 to 1865, this newspaper expressed controversial opinions, such as the belief that blacks deserved legal rights equal to those of whites and the immediate, uncompensated, emancipation for all slaves.
Term
William Lloyd Garrison
Definition
Founder of the abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, he was the most famous white abolitionist of the 1830s and was known as a radical because he pushed for equal rights for blacks and later pushed for women's equal rights as well.
Term
David Walker
Definition
A Boston free black man who published "Walker's Appeal... to the Colored Citizens" and advocated the violent over throw of the slave system in 1829, showing black abolitionists were leaders in the crusade against slavery as well.
Term
Abolitionism
Definition
From the 1830s to the Civil War, this movement began with the idea of transporting slaves back to Africa and later split with one portion ultimately favoring violent opposition to slavery with the other petitioning Congress and entered politics calling for no more expansion of slavery into new territories with the Liberty Party.
Term
Sojourner Truth
Definition
A woman who emerged as a powerful and eloquent spokeswoman for the abolition of slavery and women's rights, and made the famous speech, "Ain't I a Woman?" at a convention held in Ohio.
Term
Elijah Lovejoy
Definition
An abolitionist and editor, mobs of pro-slavery forces attacked his press on four separate occasions with the last attack setting his house on fire and shooting him as he ran out and was just another example of violence against abolitionists (even in the North).
Term
Frederick Douglass
Definition
The most prominent of all abolitionists, this escaped slave founded the abolitionist newspaper North Star, and wrote his autobiography where he presented an incriminating view of slavery that backed up his demand for African American freedom with full social and economic equality.
Term
Moderate Abolitionists
Definition
This group of people seeking to rid the country of slavery being influences by Dwight Weld's Slavery As It Is that favored gradual, compensated emancipation, appealed to many people, and represented about twelve percent of the population which demonstrated the fractured nature of the abolitionist movement.
Term
Radical Abolitionists
Definition
An increasingly vocal group that held views similar to William Lloyd Garrison in calling for the immediate, uncompensated emancipation and believed the constitution was bringing about evil and represented about three percent of the population.
Term
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Definition
Written by Harriet Beecher Stow and published in 1852, this book portrayed the evils of the institution of slavery and sold 1.2 million copies in two years and reached millions more through dramatic adaptions, which resulted in aroused sympathy for runaway slaves among all classes of Northerners and hardened many against the South's insistence upon continuing slavery.
Term
Theodore Dwight Weld
Definition
A devoted man to abolition, his anonymous tract, "Slavery As It Is" in 1839 was the inspiration behind Uncle Tom's Cabin, but though this tract was presented as factual it contained wildly distorted images of slavery.
Term
Winfield Scott
Definition
One of the finest generals to serve in the US Army, he led the US forces' march on Mexico City during the Mexican American War and his win opened up significant territory to the United States that created national problems as Congress tried to decide whether it should expand slavery in new territories.
Term
Lewis Cass
Definition
This man originally came up with the idea of popular sovereignty (which held the territory should choose to be free or slave instead of Congress) in 1848 in order to resolve the increasingly polarized national politics and was later picked up by Stephen Douglas.
Term
Popular/Squatter Sovereignty
Definition
First espoused by Democratic presidential candidate Lewis Cass in 1848 and eventually championed by Stephen A. Douglas, this principal stated that Congress should not interfere with the issue of slavery in new territories and instead each territory would draw up a constitution declaring slavery legal or illegal as it saw git which ultimately became the core of the Democratic position on slavery's expansion during the 1850s.
Term
James Gadsden
Definition
President Pierce instructed this man to negotiate with the Mexican government in 1853 for land it had accidently left off of the Treaty of Guadalupe in order to build a southern transcontinental railroad through the area and today makes up the southern tips of Arizona and New Mexico for $10 million dollars.
Term
Liberty Party
Definition
The first abolitionist party, it never campaigned on ending slavery entirely but did campaign on limiting the expansion of slavery.
Term
Zachary Taylor
Definition
President from 1849 until his death in 1850, this Whig advocated popular sovereignty and in 1849 encouraged California to apply for statehood as a free state, thereby igniting the controversy that led to the Compromise of 1850.
Term
Free Soil Party
Definition
A political party opposed to the extension of slavery into new territories and supported national improvement programs with small tariffs, it was formed from the merger of a northern faction of the Democratic Party, the abolitionist Liberty Party, and antislavery Whigs who nominated Martin Van Buren as their candidate for president and received 10% of the national popular vote demonstrating that slavery had become a central issue in national politics.
Term
Fugitive Slave Law
Definition
Passed in 1793 and strengthened as part of the Compromise of 1850, this act allowed Southerners to send slave hunters into Northern soil to retrieve runaway slaves, but by the 1850s the Northerners mounted resistance to the act by aiding escaping slaves and passing personal liberty laws.
Term
Personal Liberty Laws
Definition
Passed by nine northern states to counteract the Fugitive Slave Act, these state laws guaranteed all alleged fugitives the right to lawyer and a trial while prohibiting state jails from holding alleged fugitive slaves.
Term
Compromise of 1850
Definition
Designed by Henry and pushed through Congress by Stephen A. Douglas, this law aimed to resolve sectional conflict over the distribution of slave-holding versus free states by stipulating the admission of California as a free state; the division of the remainder of the Mexican cession into two separate territories, New Mexico and Utah, without federal restrictions on slavery; the continuance of slavery but abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia; and a more effective Fugitive Slave Law but the compromise proved incapable of stemming controversy over slavery's expansion.
Term
john C. Calhoun
Definition
As Secretary of States under President Tyler, he presented an annexation treaty of Texas to Congress as if its only purpose were to extend slavery and infuriated the North, increasing sectional tensions within the country.
Term
Daniel Webster
Definition
A leading Whig Senator during the nation's Antebellum Era, he beautifully articulated his nationalistic views and sought to preserve the Union with his most famous debate considered the most eloquent speech ever delivered in the Senate.
Term
Stephen Douglas
Definition
Rose to national prominence as Speaker of the House, when he pushed the Compromise of 1850 through Congress and was the leading Northern Democrat of his day, a supporter of poplar sovereignty and the author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act who even politically battled Abraham Lincoln for a seat in the Senate in 1858, and for president (unsuccessfully) in 1860.
Term
Jefferson Davis
Definition
Former secretary of war, he was elected president of the Confederacy shortly after its formation though he was never able to garner adequate public support and faced great difficulties in uniting the Confederate states under one central authority.
Term
William Seward
Definition
Secretary of State in 1867, he was an eager expansionist who supported the Alaskan purchase and negotiated the deal though it was criticized since Alaska was not fit for settlement or farming.
Term
Millard Fillmore
Definition
Vice President to Zachary Taylor until Taylor's death, he took over as president and served until 1853 as a moderate politician and helped push the Compromise of 1850 through Congress.
Term
Franklin Pierce
Definition
A Democrat who served as president of the United States from 1853 to 1857, he was the last president until 1932 to win the popular and electoral vote in both the North and the South but did little in the years leading up to the Civil War.
Term
Ostend Manifesto
Definition
After failing to purchase Cuba from Spain failed, some suggested the U.S. take Cuba by force but this outraged the Northerners who thought the South was just trying to extend slavery into more territories, symbolizing the emerging crisis in relations between sections of the county over the slavery issue.
Term
Kansas-Nebraska
Definition
Passed in 1854, this act divided the Nebraska territory into two parts and left the issue of slavery in the territories to be decided by popular sovereignty while also nullifying the prohibition of slavery above the 36-30' latitude established by the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
Term
John Brown
Definition
Abolitionist/religious zealot who believed God had ordained him to end slavery, he is famous for his 1856 attack against pro-slavery government officials in Kansas that killed five and sparked months of violence as well as later in 1859 when he led twenty-one men in seizing a federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in a failed attempt to incite a slave rebellion (He was caught and hanged).
Term
Charles Sumner
Definition
The leading Radical Republican senator throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction, he argued ardently for civil rights for blacks and later led the defection of the Liberal Republicans from the Republican Party.
Term
Pottawatomie Creek
Definition
Location where John Brown killed 5 pro-slavery men in Kansas and helped make the Kansas border war a national issue.
Term
Bleeding Kansas
Definition
A result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the decision to allow slavery or not turned violent as proponents of both sides flooded into Kansas territory and violence followed very disputed elections in 1855.
Term
Free Soil Party
Definition
A political party opposed to the extension of slavery into new territories and supported national improvement programs with small tariffs, it was formed from the merger of a northern faction of the Democratic Party, the abolitionist Liberty Party, and anti-slavery Whigs who nominated Martin Van Buren as their candidate for president and received 10 percent of the national popular vote demonstrating that slavery had become a central issue in national politics.
Term
James Buchanan
Definition
A moderate Democrat with support from both the North and South who served as the 15th president of the Untied States from 1857 to 1861, he failed to stem the tide of sectional conflict that eventually erupted into Civil War.
Term
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Definition
This woman famously wrote divisive Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852, which was praised by the North and convinced many Northerners that slavery was morally wrong while simultaneously it was denounced in the South as Southerners grew in their convictions to protect the slave institution.
Term
Election of 1856
Definition
This presidential election marked appearance of the Republican party who nominated John Fremont against the american Party candidate Millard Fillmore and the Democrats winner James Buchanan, major issue was the extension of slavery.
Term
John C. Fremont
Definition
Originally led an Army exploration to attempt to take California he later became a presidential nominee for the new Republican Party in 1856 but failed to win the presidency on a campaign agaisnt the expansion of slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Term
The Dred Scott Case
Definition
In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that no black, whether slave or free, could become a citizen of the United States or sue in federal court and further argued that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because it violated the 5th Amendment's protection of property from being taken away without due process so slavery was legal in the entire United States.
Term
Roger B. Taney
Definition
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1836 to 1864, he was strong supporter of the South and slavery laws that were evident in his famous decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford.
Term
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Definition
A series of seven debates held from August 21 and October 15, 1858 between senatorial candidates, the debates pitted Abraham Lincoln, a free-soil Republican, against Stephen a. Douglas, a Democrat in favor of popular sovereignty and resulted in hard-fought, highly attended, and ultimately inconclusive debates but they crystallized the dominated positions of the North in regard to slavery and propelled Lincoln into the national arena.
Term
Lecompton Constitution
Definition
The pro-slavery Kansas constitution was written by a group of Missourians who traveled across the border of Kansas and organized it around slavery but free-soilers boycotted the convention which made Congress reject the constitution and return it to Kansas for a re-vote where free-soilers would vote on it as well (Buchanan, on the other hand, supported the original constitution.
Term
Self-Determination
Definition
Having territories choose for themselves whether to be free or slave failed, as evidenced by events in Kansas and it was clear this was not a practical solution to the slavery issue.
Term
Harper's Ferry
Definition
An 1859 raid on a federal arsenal in Virginia led by John Brown, this 21 man assault seized a federal arsenal in a failed attempt to incite rebellion.
Term
Election of 1860
Definition
In this crowded presidential election, the primary issue was slavery and its expansion debated by Democrats Stephen Douglas & John C. Breckenridge, Constitutional Union John Bell, and the winner Republican Abraham Lincoln who opposed the expansion of slavery which Southerners viewed as a threat to their way of life.
Term
Abraham Lincoln
Definition
President of the United States from 1861 until his assassination inf 1865, this president's victory in the election precipitated the secession of the first southern states, paving the way for the Civil War where his primary mission was to restore the Union and later planned for a lenient Reconstruction in 1863, but was assassinated before it could be fully implemented.
Term
John Bell
Definition
His failed presidential bid won support from many border states and advocated a largely Whig political agenda, adding another faction to the fractured presidential election of 1860.
Term
John C. Breckenridge
Definition
Nominated by pro-slavery who had seceded from the Democratic convention, he was strongly for slavery and states' rights and represented the Southern Democrats in the fractured presidential election of 1860.
Term
Fort Sumter
Definition
Site of the opening engagement of the Civil War, South Carolina had seceded from the Union and had demanded all federal property be surrendered to state authorities, but Union Major Anderson refused to surrender and the Confederate Army began bombarding the fort which surrendered two days later which prompted congress to declare war on the Confederacy April 15, 1861.
Term
Crittenden Compromise
Definition
1860 compromise proposal designed to defuse tension between the North and the South which would have allowed slavery to continue in the South and would have denied Congress the power to regulate interstate slave trade, but on the advice of newly election President Lincoln Republicans in Congress voted against it.
Term
Secession
Definition
A single state or a group of states leaving the United States Of America.
Term
Morrill Act
Definition
1862 Federal act designed to fund state "land-grant" colleges (like OSU) where state governments were given large amounts of land in the western territories that was then sold to individual settlers and the profits of these lands could establish the colleges, which could research "useful" topics that were practical to farmers.
Term
National Banking System
Definition
This law created a new financial system where banks had to invest 1/3 of their money in government securities and could in return issue US Treasury notes as currency, which created a uniform system of currency.
Term
Greenbacks
Definition
This new currency was backed not by gold or silver, but simply by the good faith and credit of the government.
Term
Union Pacific Railroad
Definition
Created as a federally chartered corporation,this railroad company was to build westward from Omaha and create a transcontinental railroad that would facilitate western settlement, shortening to a single week a coast-to-coast journey that once took approximately 7 months by wagon (tracks met at Promontory Point, Utah).
Term
Central Pacific Railroad
Definition
Created as a federally chartered corporation,this railroad company was to build eastward from California and create a transcontinental railroad that would facilitate western settlement, shortening to a single week a coast-to-coast journey that once took approximately 7 months by wagon (tracks met at Promontory Point, Utah).
Term
Draft Riots
Definition
Feeling threatened by an increasingly active national government forcing people into military service and a shifting rationale for war (from preservation of the Union to emancipation of African Americans), widespread violence broke out in New York largely by angry Irish-Americans against African Americans and were stopped only by federal troops.
Term
Republican Party
Definition
Replacing the Whig Party, this political party was formed in the mind-1850sw and focused primarily on free-soil issues, elected Abraham Lincoln president, and dominated politics during the Civil War and Reconstruction and held the African-American vote for over 60 years.
Term
Antietam
Definition
Fought in Maryland in September 1863, this battle was considered the single bloodiest day of the Civil War with out 8,000 dead and 18,000 wounded and though the Union forces failed to defeat Lee and the Confederates, they did halt the Confederate advance through Northern soil and provided Lincoln with an opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Term
Union Party
Definition
Political controversies surrounded Lincoln and the Republicans heading to the the election of 1864, who were trying to balance democracy while waging a war, so they created a new political party that supported the "broad coalition" of groups who supported the war but was essentially the Republican Party with a few Democrats.
Term
Ex Parte Milligan
Definition
1866 Supreme Court ruling that military trials in areas where civil courts existed were unconstitutional in order to prevent the President from becoming too powerful and disrupt the system of checks and balances.
Term
Election of 1864
Definition
Several northern military victories rejuvenated northern morale and boosted the Republicans/Lincoln to victory in this election, with a vast majority of states voting for Lincoln which ensured the war would continue.
Term
Emancipation Proclamation
Definition
Issued by Abraham Lincoln in January of 1863, this announcement freed all slaves under rebel (Confederate) control, but did not affect the slave states within the Union or Confederate states under Union control, and therefore in practice freed no slaves but did give the war a new objective and helped ensure Europe would stay out of the Civil War.
Term
13th Amendment
Definition
Ratified December 1865, this amendment prohibited slavery in the United States.
Term
Clara Barton
Definition
Superintendent of nurses for the Union Army during the Civil War and later founded the American Red Cross in 1881, she symbolized the increased opportunities for women during this time period as the war forced people to adjust their social expectations.
Term
Ulysses S. Grant
Definition
Commanding general of western Union forces for much of the war and for all Union forces during the last year of the war using the strategy of attrition, he later became the nation's eighteenth president, serving from 1869 to 1877 and presiding over the decline of Reconstruction and a corrupt administration.
Term
Trent Affair
Definition
A Union frigate stopped and searched the British ship Trent and captured two Confederate ambassadors aboard it that possibly prevented a Confederate-British alliance but risked angering British to join the war on the side of the Confederacy until Lincoln apologized and paid the British.
Term
Anaconda Plan
Definition
This successful military strategy was developed by Union General Winfield Scott who sought to crush the Southern rebellion by imposing a naval blockade that would cut the South off from supplies/trade and then take the Mississippi, which would cut the Confederacy in half.
Term
Bull Run
Definition
In 1861 this was the first major battle between Confederate and Union forces, where the Confederate army stopped in invading Union army and sent the Union in retreat to Washington DC and waking everyone up that this would be a harsh conflict.
Term
George McClellan
Definition
1862 Commander of the Union Forces, this man was known as both an excellent trainer of soldiers but hesitant to commit them into battle and he was in charge of the overly complicated Peninsular Campaign and was eventually replaced by Grant.
Term
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
Definition
Perhaps one of the most gifted generals in American history, this Confederate general is well-known for his Valley Campaign but was accidentally shot at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, and his death shortly thereafter greatly affected the southern military and public morale for the war.
Term
Vicksburg
Definition
The "western" city was besieged by Grant and surrendered after six months of fighting as the residents were literally starving to death and the Union gained control of the whole of Mississippi and the Confederacy was split into two in 1863.
Term
Battle of Chattanooga
Definition
In 1863 General Grant came to the rescue of Union Forces and helped break the Confederate siege of the city and gained control of the Tennessee River, which now meant that four of the eleven Confederate states were cut off from the Southern nation and ended Southern dreams of a decisive military victory over the North.
Term
Gettysburg
Definition
In 1863 invaded Pennsylvania from Virginia, where Union and Confederate forces clashed in the largest battle of the Civil War, and is widely considered to be the war's turning point and marked the Union's first major victory in the East, and lasted three days that resulted in 51,000 casualties.
Term
Chancellorsville
Definition
In this 1863 battle, Lee divided up his small force with Stonewall Jackson and charged the superior forces of the Union Army, which Union General Hooker barely escaped but the loss of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was a devastating loos for the Confederates as well.
Term
Robert E. Lee
Definition
Widely regarded as the best general of the Civil War, the commanding general of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War. He was a brilliant strategist, commander, and fighter that was victorious in the Second Battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, but faced devastating losses at Gettysburg and was forced to retreat back and ultimately surrendered to General Grant.
Term
George Meade
Definition
Union General who commanded the Army of the Potomac, he is best known for defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 but failing to follow up that decisive victory and letting Lee escape, which let the war linger on for years.
Term
William Sherman
Definition
During the Civil War, Union this general led his forces on a march from Atlanta to Savannah and then to Richmond, he brought the South "to its knees" by ordering large-scale destruction known as a "scorch-earth" policy.
Term
Appomattox
Definition
It was at this location on April 9, 1865, that the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia officially surrendered to Union forces.
Term
Emancipation
Definition
This means freedom for the slaves, which was now guaranteed by the thirteenth amendment and won only through Union victory in the Civil War.
Term
10% Plan
Definition
Lincoln's lenient policy for Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union if 10% of their citizens took a loyalty oath and agreed to ratify the 13th amendment, but was not put into effect because of Lincoln's assassination.
Term
Radical Republicans
Definition
A minority group that emerged in Congress during the Civil War, they were led by Congressmen Thaddeus Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner, and demanded a harsh Reconstruction policy in order to punish the Southern states for seceding, and called for extended civil rights in the South and remained powerful until the mid 1870s.
Term
Freedman's Bureau
Definition
Established in 1865 and staffed by Union army officers, this agency provided food, clothing, education, medical care, and employment to Southern blacks.
Term
Wade-Davis Bill
Definition
Passed in July 1864, this law set forth stringent requirements for Confederate states' readmission to the Union so President Lincoln, who supported a more lenient Reconstruction policy, vetoed the Wade-Davis Bill by leaving it unsigned more than ten days after the adjournment of Congress.
Term
John Wilkes Booth
Definition
An actor who supported the Confederacy, he originally planned to abduct Lincoln near the start of the war but ultimately shot Lincoln at Ford's Theater and shouted, "Sic Sempter Tyrannis!" then broke his leg when he jumped from the balcony and got caught in the American flag and was killed several days later in a barn surrounded by soldiers.
Term
Andrew Johnson
Definition
President from 1865 until 1869, his plan for Southern Reconstruction was considered too lenient by Radical Republicans and Congress fought his initiatives and undertook a harsh Reconstruction plan that frayed relationships and culminated in impeachment proceedings in 1868 that he was ultimately acquitted for.
Term
Civil Rights Act
Definition
1866 bill that was designed to destroy Black Codes by giving African Americans full citizenship but President Johnson vetoed the bill, which Congress overrode.
Term
Alexander Stephens
Definition
Former Vice-President of the Confederacy, his election as a Senator under Johnson's lenient Reconstruction plan hardened Northern Radical Republican resolve to fight Johnson and pushed for a retributive Reconstruction plan.
Term
Black Codes
Definition
Granted freedman a few basic rights but also enforced heavy civil restrictions based on race, these codes were enacted in Southern states under Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan and convinced many Radical Republicans that his plan was inadequate.
Term
14th Amendment
Definition
Ratified in July 1868, this constitutional change guaranteed the rights of citizenship to all people, black or white, born or naturalized in the United States and also provided for the denial or congressional representation for any state that denied suffrage to any of its male citizens.
Term
Scalawags
Definition
An insulting term that Democrats gave to Southern moderates who cooperated with Republicans during Reconstruction.
Term
Carpetsbaggers
Definition
Nickname given to northerners who moved South during Reconstruction in search of political and economic opportunity, the term was coined by Southern Democrats who said that these northern opportunists had left home so quickly that they were able to carry all of their belongings in rough suitcases made from carpeting materials.
Term
Sharecropping
Definition
Replaced the plantation system after the Civil War as a method of agricultural production in the South, this divided plantations into small farms that were rented to freedmen for leases paid in the form of a share of the crop produced and gave freedmen a measure of independence but also ensured that whites maintained control of the land.
Term
Crop Lien System
Definition
Replaced the plantation system after the Civil War as a method of agricultural production in the South, this meant merchants extended credit and farming supplies to poor African American farmers against their expected harvest at the end of the season.
Term
The Alabama
Definition
The fearsome British-made vessel that fought for the Confederacy and destroyed over 60 Northern ships in 22 months and later the United States diplomatically challenged Britain for violating neutrality and demanded repayment for the damage they inadvertently caused.
Term
Ku Klux Klan
Definition
A southern vigilante group founded in 1866 in Tennessee, they operated in all Southern states and often conducted raids and lynchings to intimidate black voters and Republican officials demonstrating the South's resistance to African American equality but faded away in the late nineteenth century until later in 1915.
Term
15th Amendment
Definition
Ratified in March of 1870, this constitutional change prohibited the denial of voting rights to any citizen based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Term
Compromise of 1877
Definition
Resolved the conflict arising from election of 1876, in which Democrat Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote but Republican leaders contested some states' election returns, thereby ensuring Republican Rutherford B. Haye's victory. To minimize protest from Democratic Party, Republicans agreed to end Reconstruction by removing federal troops from the last two occupied states in the South.
Term
"The New South"
Definition
Henry Grady made an 1886 speech in which he asserted the South wanted to grow, embrace industry, eliminate racism and Confederate separatist feelings in an attempt to get Northern businessmen to invest in the South.
Term
"Bourbon" Rule
Definition
Controlled by conservative whits from 1877-1902, they represented the planters, landowners, and merchants who used coercion and cash to control enough black votes to control the Democratic Party conventions, and thus state governments in Mississippi.
Term
Apologist View
Definition
The point of view that argued slavery was no longer a "peculiar institution" or a necessary evil but that is was a positive good and supported this idea with religious, historical, and medical arguments.
Term
Positive Good
Definition
Used to describe slavery in the best possible terms the South could muster.
Term
Uncompensated Emancipation
Definition
The idea that slave-owners should not be paid for freeing their slaves since it was the correct moral thing to do.
Term
Apologist View
Definition
The point of view that argued slavery was no longer a "peculiar institution" or a necessary evil but that is was a positive good and supported this idea with religious, historical, and medical arguments.
Term
Positive Good
Definition
Used to describe slavery in the best possible terms the South could muster.
Term
Uncompensated Emancipation
Definition
The idea that slave-owners should not be paid for freeing their slaves since it was the correct moral thing to do.
Term
Matthew Perry
Definition
A long-serving naval admiral, he commanded a modern warship which he used to impress the Japanese into signing the Treaty of Kanagawa, which opened Japan to American trade.
Term
Land Butchery
Definition
Excessive cultivation of cotton would lead to the overuse of the soil and would destroy its future potential, an unfortunately common side effect of the slavery social system.
Term
Compensated Emancipation
Definition
The idea that slave-owners should be paid for freeing their slaves, as slaves were considered property during this time.
Term
John Crittenden
Definition
This man was largely responsible for attempting to compromise between the North and the South to avert the Civil War, but his proposal failed as Republicans rejected it.
Term
Panic of 1857
Definition
Economic calamity that began with the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance Company and spread to the urban east, the depression greatly affected the industrial east and the agricultural west but did little damage to the South, reinforcing the South's view that their economic system was superior to that of the North.
Term
Freeport Doctrine
Definition
Democrat Stephen A. Douglas' attempt to reconcile his belief in popular sovereignty with the Dred Scott decision, Douglas argued that territories could effectively forbid slavery by failing to enact slave codes.
Term
Border States
Definition
Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were states around the North who supported slavery within their territories but did not secede, giving the Union strategic land during the Civil War.
Term
Philip Sheridan
Definition
Grant's most dependable General, he was a commander of infantry in the Western theater who Grant promoted to the Army of Potomac Cavalry Corps that were used to defeat Confederate forces in Shenandoah Valley and relentlessly pursue Robert E. Lee until his surrender in 1865.
Term
Army of the Potomac
Definition
The main Union Army force in the Eastern United States during the Civil War.
Term
Blockade
Definition
An act of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving, in this case the North imposed this on the South to isolate the South and bring it back into the Union.
Term
Peninsular Compaign
Definition
A major Union operation and first large scale offensive action in the Eastern Theater in 1862, General McClellan intended to capture Richmond, Virginia by circumventing the Confederate Army but was repelled by the superior tactics or Robert E. Lee.
Term
"Swing 'Round the Circle"
Definition
A disastrous speaking campaign by President Johnson in 1866 where he tried to gain support for his mild Reconstruction policies and supporting Democrats in the upcoming election, but his campaign had the opposite effect and alienated more voters to vote for Radical Reconstruction.
Term
Redeemers
Definition
A political coalition in the Southern United States during the Reconstruction era who sought to oust the Republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers, and scalawags in order to ensure Democratic control.
Term
Force Acts
Definition
Laws aimed at limiting the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in 1870, made actions committed with the intent to influence voters/voting were made a federal offense so that the federal government would prosecute the crimes away from the local juries who might support such activity.
Term
Fredericksburg
Definition
A battle Confederate forces under the Command of Lee and the Union of the Potomac led by General Burnside in 1862, this was one of the most one-side battles where the Union suffered terrible casualties in a failed frontal assault against entrenched Confederate defenders, destroying the Union's hope of capturing Richmond.
Term
Tenure of Office Act
Definition
Enacted by the radical Congress in 1866, it forbade the president from removing federally appointed people without the consent of the Senate and was meant to prevent President Johnson from removing radical-supporting administration figures, but Johnson broke the law and was impeached for his crime.
Term
Solid South
Definition
For 100 years after the Civil War this was an area that always voted Democratic in every presidential election and was essentially a one-party area.
Term
Copperheads
Definition
The name for Northern and Western Democrats in Congress who wished for an end to what they deemed an "unjust war" were named after the poisonous snake because Lincoln felt they were waiting to get him, end his broad use of executive power and end the Civil War without saving the Union.
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